LIBRARY OF 

O. O. COVERT. 




Gags E 317- 



THE LIFE 

OF 

GEORGE WASHINGTON, 

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF 
THE AMERICAN ARMY THROUGH THE 
REVOLUTIONARY WAR, 

AND THE 
BY 

AARON BANCROFT, D.D. 
M 




PHILADELPHIA: 

PORTER & COATES. 



PREFACE. 



The following publication originated in the author's 
wish to place within reach of the great body of his coun- 
trymen, an authentic biography of General WASHING- 
TON. 

Judge Marshall, in his valuable life of this illustrious 
patriot, has embraced not only the settlement and general 
history of the North American Colonies, but also the 
political history of the United States. His work is there- 
fore necessarily too expensive to be obtained by all classes 
of American people. The writer of these memoirs appre- 
hended, that by publishing the life of WASHINGTON in 
a compressed form, he should enable those of his fellow- 
citizens, who are not in possession of Marshall, to leave to 
their posterity a memorial of a man who was pre-eminently 
distinguished as a Soldier and Statesman. 

General WASHINGTON was from his youth devoted 
to his country ; his character therefore cannot be portrayed 
without bringing into view many important public trans- 
actions. The plan of the writer has been to notice no 
individual or event, further than was necessary to display 
the principal character. 

He has made Judge Marshall his leading authority for 
facts, and has in some measure followed him in the order 
of events. The histories of the war by Doctors Ramsay 
and Gordon, and several original writings, have been con- 
sulted ; bat he trusts that greater liberty has not been 
taken with any of them than is fair and honorable. The 
few facts which have not before been published, were re- 



2 



PREFACE. 



ceived immediately from confidential friends of General 
WASHINGTON, or from gentlemen who, in respectable 
official situations, were members of his family during his 
military command. 

It has been the endeavor of the author to display the 
character of the man who is the subject of the work, by ex- 
hibiting in a connected view his actions and his writings : 
and he has, as far as possible, made this exhibition in the 
person of General WASHINGTON. 

He has not conceived that he was writing for men of 
erudition, but for the unlettered portion of the community; 
and he has for their benefit more particularly studied sim- 
plicity of style. Should he be so happy as to obtain their 
approbation, he will receive an ample reward of his labor. 

He entertains no expectation of acquiring literary fame 
by this publication ; but he hopes to escape the disgrace of 
having written a useless book, 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 

His Birth — Education — Appointed an Adjutant-General of the 
militia — His embassy to the Ohio — Commissioned as Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel of a regular regiment — Surprises a detachment of 
French troops — Capitulation of Fort Necessity — He is ap- 
pointed a volunteer Aide-de-camp to General Braddock — His 
bravery in the action in which that General fell — He is ap- 
pointed the Colonel of a regiment, and Commander-in-Chief of 
the Virginia troops — His efforts to defend the frontiers — His 
exertions in the expedition under General Forbes to gain pos- 
session of Fort du Quesne — Resigns his commission. Page 9 

CHAPTER II. 

Colonel Washington's Marriage — His management of the Estate 
of Mount Vernon — Appointed a Judge of the County Court, 
and a Member of the Virginia Legislature — Chosen a Member 
of the first Congress — Appointed Commander-in-Chief of the 
American Forces — Arrives at Camp — Arranges the Army — - 
Deficiency or. Arms and Ammunition — Colonel Arnold de- 
tached to Quebec — Success of American Cruisers — Evils of 
Temporary Enlistments — An attack on the Enemy's Posts 
meditated — Possession taken of the Heights of Dorchester 
— Boston evacuated 42 

CHAPTER III. 

General Washington marches the army to New York — Forti- 
fications of the City and River— Independence declared — 
General Howe lands on Staten Island— Interview between 
General Washington and Colonel Patterson — State of the 

b) 



4 



CONTENTS. 



British and American Forces — Camp at Brooklyn — Battle on 
Long Island — Retreat from it — The City and Island of New 
York evacuated — Manoeuvres at White Plains — Fort Wash- 
ington taken — General Howe invades New Jersey — Depres- 
sion of the Americans — General Washington invested with 
new Powers — Success at Trenton, and at Princeton — New 
Jersey recovered Page 72 

CHAPTER IV. 

General Washington disposes his small force for the protection 
of New Jersey — Army inoculated — Abuse of American pris- 
oners — The Exchange of General Lee refused — Stores at 
Peck's Kill and Danbury destroyed — American Army takes 
post at Middiebrook — Sir William Howe moves towards the 
Delaware — Returns to Staten Island and embarks his troops 
— He lands at the head of Elk — General Washington marches 
to meet him — Battle of Brandywine — Effects of a Storm — 
British take possession of Philadelphia — Mud Island and Red 
Bank fortified — Obstructions in the River — Attack on Mud 
Island — Count Donop defeated — British surmount the Fortifi- 
cations of the River — Plan to attack Philadelphia — Sir Wil- 
liam Howe reconnoitres the American camp at White Marsh 
— The Army posted at Valley Forge — The privations of the 
Soldiers during the winter 131 

CHAPTER V. 

Progress and Issue of the Northern Campaign — Plan to dis- 
place General Washington— His Correspondence on the Sub- 
ject — Letter of General Gates— Remonstrance of the Legis- 
lature of Pennsylvania against closing the Campaign — Obser- 
vations of the Commander-in-Chief upon it — Sufferings of the 
Army for the want of Provisions and Clothing — Measures 
adopted by the Commander-in-Chief to obtain supplies — 
Methods taken to Recruit the Army— Sir Henry Clinton ap- 
pointed Commander-in-Chief of the British F orces — He evacu- 
ates Philadelphia, and marches through New Jersey to New 
York — General Washington pursues him — Battle of Mon- 
mouth — Thanks of Congress to the General and Army — Gen- 
eral Lee censured — He demands a Court Martial, and is sus- 



CONTENTS. 5 

pended from his Command — French fleet appears on the 
American Coast — Expedition against Rhode Island — It fails 
* — Disaffection between the American and French Officers — 
Measures of the Commander-in-Chief to prevent the ill-con- 
sequences of it — Army goes into Winter quarters in the High- 
lands Page i Go 



CHAPTER VI. 

Plan formed by Congress and the French minister for the 
invasion of Canada and Nova Scotia — General Washington's 
objections to it — Tardiness of the United States to prepare 
for the approaching campaign — The exertions of the General 
— His letter on the state of the nation — The remonstrance 
of officers belonging to the New Jersey brigade — Letters of 
the Commander-in-Chief on the subject — Expedition against 
the Indians under General Sullivan — He destroys their 
towns — The American army posted for the defence of the 
Highlands on the North River, and for the protection of the 
country against the incursions of the British — Sir Henry 
Clinton moves up the Hudson, takes possession of Stony 
and Verplank Points, and fortifies them — Arrangements made 
for assaulting these posts — General Wayne carries Stony 
Point by storm — The attack upon Verplank fails — Congress 
vote their thanks to General Washington and to the brave 
troops employed in this service — They vote General Wayne 
a medal — Evils of short enlistments— Plan of the General's 
to remedy them — The army in two divisions erect huts for 
winter quarters—The troops suffer through the scarcity of 
provisions — Colonel Wadsworth resigns his office — Confusion 
in the commissary's department — The Commander-in-Chief 
apportions supplies of meat and flour upon the counties of 
New Jersey — The winter excessively cold, and the waters 
around New York frozen over — Expedition to Staten Island 
fails 1 94 

CHAPTER VII. 

Amount of Paper Emission—Congress destitute of Means to 
support the War — Supplies apportioned upon the States — Ex- 
ertions of the Commander-in-Chief — Mutiny in a part of the 



6 



CONTENTS 



Army — The British make an Excursion into New Jersey — 
The American Troops bravely resist them — The Court of 
France promises a Naval and Land Armament to act in Amer- 
ica — Preparation to co-operate with it — A French Squadron 
arrives on the American Coast — Count Rochambeau lands at 
Newport with five thousand Men — The American and French 
Commanders meet at Hartford to settle the Plan of the Cam 
paign — The second Division of the French Troops fails — Gen 
eral Arnold becomes a Traitor--He corresponds with Major 
Andre — Andre comes on Shore at West Point — Attempts to 
return to New York by land — He is taken into Custody bv 
three Mihtia Men — A Board of General Officers condemn 
him — He is executed — Letter of General Washington on the 
State of the Army--Congress adopts a Military Establishment 
for the War — The Army goes into Winter quarters. Page 219 

CHAPTER VIII 

\rnold is appointed a Brigadier in the British service and in- 
vades Virginia — Plan to capture him — Mutiny in the Amer- 
ican camp — Violence of the Pennsylvania line — Order re- 
stored — Weak state of the army — The French Court grants a 
Loan to the United States — Exertion of the States to enable 
the General to open the campaign — The French troops march 
to the American camp — Plan to surprise the British Post at 
King's bridge — Expedition to Virginia — Count de Grasse ar- 
rives in the Chesapeake — Yorktown besieged — British redoubts 
stormed — The British make a sortie — Lord Cornwallis at- 
tempts to escape — He capitulates and surrenders his posts — 
indecisive action between the French and English fleets — 
Sir Henry, too late, embarks his troops for Yorktown — Thanks 
of Congress to the American and French commanders, and to 
the army — General St Clair despatched to Carolina — The 
other corps of the army return to the neighborhood of New 
York, and go into Winter quarters .250 

CHAPTER IX 

Preparations for another campaign — Sir Guy Carleton arrives at 
New York and announces the vote of Parliament to acknowl 



CONTENTS. 



7 



edge American Independence — Army anxious for their Pay 
— Anonymous Address exciting them to a Revolt — General 
Washington convenes and addresses the officers — Their res- 
olutions — Preliminary Articles of Peace received — Cessation 
of Hostilities proclaimed — General Washington addresses a 
Circular Letter to the Executives of the several States — Army 
disbanded — New Levies of Pennsylvania revolt — The Com- 
mander-in-Chief enters New York — Takes leave of his 
Officers — Resigns his Commission to the President of Con- 
gress — Retires to Mount Vernon Page 272 

CHAPTER X. 

General Washington in Retirement — His Pursuits — Votes of 
Congress and of the Legislature of Virginia respecting him — 
His Visitors and Correspondents — His Plans to improve the 
Navigation of the Potomac and James Rivers — Declines 
the grant of Virginia — His Advice to the Cincinnati — State of 
Public Affairs — National Convention — General Washington 
its President — Federal Constitution recommended and adopt- 
ed — General Washington requested to consent to administer 
the Government — He is chosen President of the United 
States — Sets out for the Seat of Government — Attention 
shown him on his Journey — His Reception at New York. 306 

CHAPTER XI. 

Inauguration of the President — His Address to Congress — An- 
swers of the two Houses — The Arrangements of his House- 
hold — His Regulations for Visitors — The reasons of their 
adoption — The Relations of the United States with Foreign 
Powers — Congress establishes the Departments of the Gov- 
ernment — The President fills them — He visits New England 
— His Reception — Addresses to him — His Answers — Nego- 
tiations with the Indians — Treaty with the Creeks — War 
with the Wabash and Miami's Tribes — General Harmar's 
Expedition — St. Clair defeated — General Wayne victorious 
and makes a Treaty with them — Second Session of Congress 
— Fiscal Arrangements of the Secretary of the Treasury — 



8 



CONTENTS. 



Indisposition of the President — He visits Mount Vernon — 
Meets Congress at Philadelphia — His Tour to the Southern 
States — Second Congress — The President refuses his signa- 
ture to the Representative Bill — Contemplates retiring to 
Private Life — Consents to be a Candidate for the Second 
Presidency Page 341 



CHAPTER XII. 

General Washington re-elected President — State of Parties — 
Division in the Cabinet — The President endeavors to pro- 
mote union — Influence of the French Revolution — Measures 
to secure the Neutrality of the United States in the War 
between France and England — Mr. Genet's illegal practices 
— He insults the Government — The Executive restricts him 
— He appeals to the People — They support the Administration 
— The President determines to arrest Genet — He is recalled 
— Negotiation with Britain — Insurrection in Pennsylvania - 
Democratic Societies — British Treaty — Communication be- 
tween the French Executive and the Legislature of the 
United States — The President refuses to the House of 
Representatives the Papers respecting Diplomatic transac- 
tions — His interpositions in favor of the Marquis La Fayette 
— Takes the Son of the Marquis under his Protection and 
Patronage 373 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The President calumniated — His letter to Mr. Jefferson — State- 
ment of the Secretary of the Treasury — The French Direc- 
tory's attempt to control the American Government — Review 
of the transactions with France — The President declares his 
resolution to retire from Public Life — Meets Congress for the 
last Time — Describes the Letters that had been forged — At- 
tends the Inauguration of Mr. Adams — Retires to Mount 
Vernon — Threatening Attitude of France — General Wash- 
ington appointed Commander-in-Chief of the American 
Forces — His opinion of Public Measures — His Indisposition 
and Death — Conclusion 431 



LIFE 

or 

GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER I. 

His Birth — Education — Appointed an Adjutant-General of the 
militia — His embassy to the Ohio — Commissioned as Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel of a regular regiment — Surprises a detach- 
ment of French troops — Capitulation of Fort Necessity — He 
is appointed a volunteer Aide-de-camp to General Braddock 
— His bravery in the action in which that General fell — He is 
appointed the Colonel of a regiment, and commander-in-chief 
of the Virginia troops — His efforts to defend the frontiers — 
His exertions in the expedition under General Forbes to gain 
possession of Fort du Ouesne — Resigns his commission. 

George Washington was born in the county of 
Westmoreland, Virginia, on the 22d day of Febru- 
ary, 1732. He was the third son of Mr. Augustine 
Washington, and the great grandson of Mr. John 
Washington, a gentleman of a family of some distinc- 
tion in the north of England, who emigrated about 
the year 1657, and took up the estate on which the 
subject of these memoirs was born. 

At the age of ten years, by the death of his father, 
he was left in the sole care of a solicitous mother. 
She gave him a private education. A grammatical 

knowledge of the English language, mathematics. 

(9) 



IO 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1747. 



geography, history, natural and moral philosophy, to 
the exclusion of the learned languages, formed the 
course of his youthful studies. 

The candor and manliness of his disposition were 
early displayed among his young companions, and the 
commanding influence of his character was first dis- 
covered by his ascendancy over them. 

The patrimonial estate of Mr. Washington was 
small. After the completion of his course with his 
tutor, he was engaged in useful industry ; and for 
several years of his minority, employed as a country 
surveyor. In this employment he distinguished him- 
self by his diligence, and by the neatness and accu- 
racy of his plans. His experience in this business 
made him well acquainted with the worth of new 
lands, and aided him afterwards in their selection. 

The military bias of his mind was early discovered. 
The war between England and France in 1747, 
kindled in his young breast that spark, which at a 
subsequent period burst into a flame, and at his own 
importunity, the berth of a midshipman, at the age of 
fifteen, was obtained in the British navy. His views 
in this instance were defeated by the anxiety of an 
affectionate mother. 

At a time when the militia was to be trained for 
actual service, at nineteen he was appointed one of 
the adjutant-generals of Virginia, with the rank of 
major; from the execution of the duties of this com- 
mission, honorable to his age, he was soon called to 
higher employments. 

France at this period unfolded her ambitious de- 
sign of connecting Canada with Louisiana, and in this 
way of enclosing the British colonies in North Amer- 
ica. Her officers were directed to estab ish a line of 



1 7 S3-] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



1 1 



posts from the lakes to the Ohio. This tract of 
country, the English held to be within the boundaries 
of Virginia. Mr. Dinwiddie, then the Lieutenant- 
Governor of the province, alarmed by encroachments, 
which involved the important interests of the British 
crown, conceived it proper officially to warn the 
French to desist from the prosecution of a scheme, 
deemed a violation of existing treaties between the 
two countries. 

It was difficult to select a proper agent to execute 
this perilous mission. He must pass through an un- 
explored wilderness, filled by tribes of Indians ; some 
of which were doubtful friends, and many the decided 
enemies of the English. The fatigues and dangers 
which induced other Virginians to decline the com- 
mission of envoy on this occasion, led Mr. Washing- 
ton with ardor to seek the appointment. 

The very day on which he received his 
commission he commenced his journey from 
Williamsburg. At Winchester he procured 
the necessary provisions, baggage, and horses. On 
the fourteenth of November he reached Will's Creek, 
the frontier of inhabited Virginia ; here he hired a 
guide and four other attendants, to accompany him 
over the Alleghany mountains ; the passage of which 
was now attended with difficulty and hazard. The 
weather became incessantly stormy, and the snow 
deep ; and he was unable to arrive at Turtle Creek, 
on the mouth of the Monongahela, before the 22d. 
Here he was informed of the death of the French 
General, and found that his troops had retired to win- 
ter quarters. With extreme fatigue he pursued his 
journey; surveyed the country with the judgment of 
a soldier, and selected the forks of the Monongahela 



12 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



and Alleghany rivers, as a place highly expedient for 
the English to possess and fortify. On this site the 
French soon after erected Fort du Ouesne, which, 
when the British General Forbes gained the posses- 
sion, he called Fort Pitt. 

In this place he spent a few days to conciliate the 
affections of the Indians of the vicinity. Some of 
their chiefs, whose fidelity he took the wisest meas- 
ures to secure, he engaged as guides, with them, as- 
cended the Alleghany river, and at the mouth of 
French Creek found the first French post Proceed- 
ing up the creek to another fort, he met Monsieur le 
Gardeur de St. Pierre, the commanding officer on the 
Ohio, and to him he delivered Governor Dinwiddie's 
letter. Within three or four days he received an offi- 
cial answer to his communication, and immediately 
left the place on his return ; but the snow being ex- 
cessively deep, and his horses growing weak from 
fatigue, he became impatient at the slowness of his 
progress. Leaving therefore his horses with neces- 
sary directions, in the care of his attendants, he and 
his guide wrapped themselves in watch coats, took 
his important papers, and the necessary provisions in 
their packs, and with their guns in their hands, prose- 
cuted the journey on foot the nearest way through 
the woods. The next day, December 26, as he passed 
a place called the Murdering Town, he fell in with a 
party of French Indians, which lay in wait for him ; 
one of them not fifteen steps distant fired, but with- 
out effect. This Indian the Major took into custody 
and detained him till nine o'clock in the evening, 
then dismissed him, and continued his march through 
the night, that he might be beyond the reach of pur- 
suit, should the Indians in the morning follow his 



1754-3 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 13 

track. The second day he reached the river two 
miles above the Shannapis, expecting to find it frozen 
over ; but the ice extended only fifty yards from the 
shore ; though quantities of it were driven in the 
channel. A raft was their only means of passing, 
and they had but one poor hatchet with which to 
make it. It cost them a hard day's work to form the 
raft ; the next day they launched it, went on board, 
and attempted the passage ; but before they were half 
way over they were enclosed by masses of ice, and 
threatened with immediate destruction. Mr. Wash- 
ington put down his setting pole to stop the raft, that 
the ice might pass by, but the rapidity of the current 
crowded the ice with such force against the pole, that 
it threw him out in ten feet water. But fortunately 
he saved himself by seizing one of the raft logs. 
With their utmost efforts they were unable to reach 
either shore, but with difficulty they landed on an 
island. The cold was so severe, that Mr. Gist, the 
guide, had his hands and feet frozen. The next morn 
ing, without hazard, they passed the river on the ice, 
and were received into the lodging of Mr. Frazier, an 
Indian trader. Here Major Washington took a 
horse, and on the 16th of January, 1754, reached Wil- 
liamsburg, and made report of his proceedings. 

The fatigue and danger of this embassy are not 
easily conceived by persons in the bosom of civilized 
life. " From the 1st to the 15th of December," says 
Major Washington, " there was but one day in which 
it did not rain or snow incessantly, and through the 
whole journey there was but one continued series of 
cold, wet weather/' The journal, composed for the 
perusal of Governor Dinwiddie, was published, and 
the enterprise, judgment, and perseverance displayed 



14 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1754. 

in the execution of this service, exalted Mr. Washing- 
ton in public opinion ; and gave his country an earnest 
of his future services. 

The embassy to the Ohio not having induced the 
French to withdraw from that country, the Assembly 
of Virginia adopted measures to maintain the claims 
of the British crown. They empowered the executive 
of the colony to raise a regiment to consist of three 
hundred men. Mr. Fry, a gentleman acquainted with 
the western country, was appointed to command it, 
and the commission of Lieut.-Colonel was given to 
Major Washington. Enterprising and patriotic, Col 
Washington requested and obtained permission to 
march first, early in April, 1754, with two companies 
to the Great Meadows. The reasons which led him 
to this measure, were to be early in active service, to 
learn the designs of the enemy, to afford protection to 
the English settlements, to cultivate the friendship of 
the Indians, and to acquire a knowledge of the country, 
which promised to be the scene of military operations. 
Scarcely had he taken possession of his ground when 
some friendly Indians informed him that the French 
had driven away a working party, sent by the Ohio 
company to erect a fort on the southeastern branch of 
the Ohio, and were themselves building a fortress on 
the very ground which he had recommended to the 
Governor for a military post. They also gave the in- 
telligence, that a force was then marching from that 
place to the Great Meadows. Although hostilities 
had not commenced, yet it was considered that the 
French had invaded the English territory ; and many 
circumstances rendered it probable that a force was 
approaching with hostile views. It appeared that the 
party had left the direct road, and had encamped in a 



1754 ] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON 



valley, a few miles to the west of the Great Meadows, 
as a place of concealment Colonel Washington, 
under the guidance of the Indians, set out in a dark, 
rainy night, and surrounded the encampment At 
daybreak his men fired and rushed upon the French, 
who, being completely surprised, surrendered One 
man only made his escape, and Mr. Jumonville, the 
commander, alone was killed. 

The ether companies of the regiment were, at this 
time, in march to join those in advance ; before these 
reached the camp Colonel Fry died, and the command 
devolved on Lieutenant-Colonel Washington. Two 
companies of British troops, one from South Carolina 
and the other from New York, also joined the regi- 
ment at the Great Meadows, making a force of four 
hundred effective men. The regular captains reluct- 
antly placed themselves under the command of a pro- 
vincial officer ; but pressing circumstances induced 
them for the time to waive dispute about rank, and to 
act under the orders of Colonel Washington. 

For the security of their stores he erected a small 
stockade, and then marched towards Fort du Quesne, 
to dislodge the French. At the foot of Laurel Hill, 
thirteen miles on the way, he was met by a number 
of friendly Indians, who informed him, that the enemy 
were hastily approaching with a strong detachment. 
A confidential chief assured him, that he had seen a 
reinforcement arrive at du Quesne, which place he 
left two days before, and had learned that a body con- 
sisting of eight hundred French and four hundred In- 
dians, would immediately march to attack the English, 
The previous information of deserters from the enemy 
confirmed the Indian's report. The troops had been 
already six davs without bread, and had but a small 



l6 LIFE OF WASHINGTON I1754. 

quantity of meat in store. The French might ap- 
poach by water carriage, within five miles of their 
present encampment ; and then pass them by a differ- 
ent route and starve them into a surrender, or fight 
them with a great superiority of numbers. 

In this critical situation Colonel Washixg- 
June 28, ton called a council of war. The unanimous 
I7:>4 ' advice of which was, to return to their po- 
sition at the Great Meadows ; because the two roads 
at that place united, and the country did not allow an 
enemy to pass them unperceived , and at this place 
they might wait the arrival of a supply of provisions 
and reinforcement of men. The Colonel approved 
the advice of his officers, and immediately carried it 
into effect. (July 2) — His first care was to sink a ditch 
round the stockade, which he now named Fort Ne- 
cessity ; but before it was completed, the enemy at- 
tacked him (July 3) under the command of Monsieur 
de Villier, whose force consisted of fifteen hundred 
men. The assault was gallantly made, and bravely 
repelled. Part of the garrison fought within the fort, 
and part in the ditch, which was almost filled with 
mud and water. Colonel Washington, during the 
whole action, remained without the fort, by his 
presence and example animating his men. The at- 
tack began at ten in the morning, and was continued 
without intermission as long as the light of day re- 
mained. Early in the evening Monsieur de Villier 
demanded a parley and mentioned the terms of capit- 
ulation which hs was willing to grant. These were 
rejected ; but in the course of the night, articles were 
agreed upon and signed. By these, the fort was to be 
surrendered, the garrison allowed the honors of war, 
to retain their firearms and bag age, and unmolested 



1754-1 LlFK OF WASHINGTON. t? 

to march to the inhabited part of Virginia. The cap- 
itulation was the work of haste, and written in the 
French language, with which neither Colonel Wash- 
ington nor any of his officers were acquainted, and 
unfortunately contained an expression, which the 
translator, at the time, construed to Colonel Washing- 
ton to imply, that Mr. Jumonville, in the first action 
was killed ; but which literally would bear the trans- 
lation, was assassinated. In answer to a publication 
of Monsieur de Villier, Colonel Washington, soon 
after the event, made it fully appear that he did not 
understand the import of the word ; but during his 
presidency, an enemy had the audacity to call him, 
upon the strength of this capitulation, an assassin* 

The killed and wounded in the Virginia regiment 
on this occasion amounted to fifty-eight. The enemy 
were stated to have had about two hundred killed and 
wounded. 

The public gave to this brave band merited praise ; 
and the Assembly of Virginia expressed their sense of 
the resolution and judgment displayed in the above 
action, by a vote of thanks to Colonel Washington 
and his officers, and by a donation of three hundred 
pistoles to the soldiery. 

The regiment fell back to Winchester to recruit. 
At this place, the companies from North Carolina and 
Maryland joined the Virginia force ; the whole com- 
manded by Colonel Innes of North Carolina. 

Governor Dinwiddie, with advice of council, ordered 
the troops to march over the Alleghany mountains ; 
either to drive the French from du Quesne, or to erect 
a fort in a favorable position. The forces were in 

* In an infamous publication in the Aurora, under the signature of Jasper 

DWIGHT. 

2 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1755. 

number much inferior to those of the enemy, and 
were totally unprovided with articles of clothing and 
provisions essential to a winters campaign. Orders 
were also given immediately to fill up the regiment, 
although no money was voted for the recruiting ser- 
vice. Colonel Washington pointedly remonstrated 
against these measures ; but being adopted, did all in 
his power to carry them into effect. The Legislature 
soon rose, without providing effectual means for active 
service, and the troops did not march. 

During the succeeding winter, regulations from the 
war office were published in America, which provided, 
that general and field officers of provincial troops, 
when serving with general and field officers commis- 
sioned by the crown, should have no rank ; and con- 
sequently, that senior provincial officers should be 
commanded by their juniors belonging to the regular 
troops. 

The military ambition of Colonel Washington had 
been excited by his experience, and by the applause 
of his country ; but he possessed the spirit of a sol- 
dier, and refusing submission to these degrading reg- 
ulations, he indignantly resigned his commission. 
At the same time he declared, that with high satis- 
faction he would obey the commands of his country, 
when her service should be consistent with his 
honor. 

1755. Colonel Washington had at this time suc- 
ceeded to the estate of his eldest brother, on the 
Potomac, called Mount Vernon, in compliment to 
the British Admiral of that name. On this estate he 
resolved to devote his life to agricultural and philo- 
sophic pursuits, a resolution that he did not long 
retain. 



17.55] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. ! 9 

In the spring, General Braddock, who com- 
manded two British regiments, and a few Ma t ^. h ' 
corps of provincials, was making preparation 
for an expedition to the Ohio. He invited Colonel 
Washington to join his army, as his volunteer aide-de- 
camp. The opportunity of making a campaign with 
a gentleman of his professional knowledge and ex- 
perience was with pleasure embraced. When the 
General, in April, left Alexandria, Colonel Washing- 
ton entered his family, and attended him to Will's 
Creek, where Fort Cumberland was now erected. 
Here the army remained until the 12th of June, col 
lecting horses, wagons, and provisions. Colonel Wash- 
ington advised the commander-in-chief to use, as far 
as possible, pack-horses instead of wagons, on account 
of the roughness of the country. Little attention was 
given to his opinion at the moment, but, after the com- 
mencement of the march, the measure from necessity 
was partially adopted. 

Soon after the army left Cumberland, Colonel 
Washington was attacked by a violent fever ; refus- 
ing to be left behind, he was carried forward in a cov- 
ered wagon. All the difficulties arising from the state 
of the roads, which had been foreseen by Colonel 
Washington, were, on the march, fully realized. 
General Braddock now advised with him on the most 
eligible measures to be adopted to secure the success 
of the expedition. He earnestly recommended, that 
the heavy artillery and baggage should be left under 
the charge of a subaltern officer ; and, that the com- 
mander-in-chief, with the flower of his army, should 
with the utmost despatch advance to the Ohio, in the ex- 
pectation of possessing themselves of Fort duQuesne, 
before the French garrison could be reinforced by the 



20 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON 



troops that were known to be on their way for that 
purpose. The General closed with this advice. Twelve 
hundred men were selected, a few wagons were at- 
tached to the light artillery, and necessary provisions 
were placed on pack-horses. Of this body General 
Braddock himself took the command, leaving Colonel 
Dunbar to bring up the other division by slow marches. 

General Braddock with his disencumbered troops 
did not move with the expedition that accorded with 
the enterprising spirit of his American aid. In a letter 
written at the moment, he says, " I found that instead 
of pushing on with vigor, without regarding a little 
rough road, they were halting to level every mole hill, 
and to erect bridges over every brook." In four days 
they advanced only nineteen miles. The indisposition 
of Colonel Washington now became so severe, that 
his physicians declared that his life would be the 
sacrifice of the continued fatigues of the march. The 
General therefore absolutely directed him to remain 
at Yohogany with a small guard, until Colonel Dunbar 
came up with him. Colonel Washington at length 
consented, on the promise that he should be brought 
up with the advanced corps, before its arrival at Fort 
du Ouesne. The day preceding the fatal action, he, 
in a covered wagon, rejoined the troops, and, in his 
debilitated state, entered on his duty. 

General Braddock was warned of the danger, to 
which the character of his enemy exposed him, and 
advised to employ the ranger companies of Virginia 
to scour the woods, and prevent ambuscades ; but not 
looking for an enemy capable of serious opposition, he 
without caution moved his army in small columns. 
Within seven miles of du Ouesne, he was suddenly 
attacked by an invisible foe ; the assaulting party 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



21 



of French and Indians fighting under COVer July 8, 
of the thick wood and high grass, with which 
the country abounded. 

Early in the action, the aides-de-camp, except Colo- 
nel Washington, were killed or disabled, and he per, 
formed the whole of the dangerous service of carrying 
the orders of the commander to his respective officers. 
Of all those, who on this fatal day did duty on horse- 
back, he alone escaped without a wound ; although he 
had two horses shot under him, and four balls through 
his coat. Doctor Craik, the physician who attended 
him in his last sickness, was a witness of this scene: 
" I expected," says he, " every moment to see him 
fall — His duty and situation exposed him to every 
danger. Nothing but the superintending care of 
Providence could have saved him from the fate of all 
around him." 

After an action of three hours, the troops broke, and 
the efforts of their officers to rally them were fruitless. 
Colonel Washington assisted to bring General Brad- 
dock off the field, who was mortally wounded. He 
reached Fort Cumberland, and there died and was 
buried. During the arduous and dangerous conflicts 
of this hour, Colonel Washington exhibited that self- 
possession and determined courage, which are essen- 
tial to the officer. To his quick discernment and 
sound judgment, the preservation of the defeated troops 
was in a great measure attributed ; and had his advice 
been previously adopted, probably the disaster would 
not have happened. As soon as relieved from his at- 
tention to his unfortunate General, he was despatched 
to Cumberland, to provide for the retreating army. 

Colonel Dunbar being joined by them, de- * 

& J J ' August, 

stroyed the stores he could not remove, x 755- 



^ 2 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1755. 

and marched his army to Philadelphia into winter- 
quarters. 

The British troops had not been accustomed to In- 
dian warfare ; and, on this occasion, Col. Washing- 
ton indignantly witnessed their pusillanimity. In an 
official relation of the engagement to the Executive 
of Virginia, he observes/' They were struck with such 
an inconceivable panic, that nothing but confusion 
and disobedience of orders prevailed among them. 
The officers in general behaved with incomparable 
bravery, for which they greatly suffered ; there being 
upwards of sixty killed and wounded ; a large propor- 
tion of what we had. 

" The Virginia companies behaved like men, and 
died like soldiers ; for I believe of three companies on 
the ground that day, scarcely thirty men were left 
alive. Capt. Peronny and all his officers, down to 
a corporal, were killed. Capt. Poulson had almost as 
hard a fate, for only one of his escaped. In short, the 
dastardly behavior of the regular troops, so called, 
exposed those who were inclined to do their duty to 
almost certain death. And at length, in spite of every 
effort to the contrary, they broke and ran as sheep be- 
fore hounds ; leaving the artillery, ammuniton, pro- 
visions, baggage, in short everything, a prey to the 
enemy ; and when we endeavored to rally them, in 
hopes of regaining the ground, and what we had left 
upon it, it was with as little success as if we had at- 
tempted to stop the wild bears of the mountains, or the 
rivulets with our feet; for they would break by in 
spite of every effort to prevent it." 

The Assembly of Virginia was in session when the 
gloomy intelligence was received, that General Brad- 
dock was defeated and slain, and that Colonel Dunbar 



t 7 55 ] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 23 

had left their frontiers open to the invasion of the en- 
emy. They immediately voted to raise a regiment to 
consist of sixteen companies. 

The important transactions in which Colonel Wash- 
ington had been engaged developed his character, and 
his reputation rose by every public trust with which 
he was invested. He now received a commission ap- 
pointing him Colonel of this regiment, and Commander- 
in-Chief of all the forces raised, and to be raised, in 
Virginia ; with the privilege to name his field officers. 
He could in the existing state of the colony, engage 
in the military service of his country without an im- 
peachment of his honor, and with alacrity he accepted 
the appointment. 

1755. A scene now opened to Colonel Washing- 
ton, trying indeed to a commander of his youth and 
degree of experience, but proving an excellent school, 
in which to form the General of the revolutionary war. 
With an incompetent force he was to defend a fron- 
tier of three hundred and sixty miles. The French on 
the Ohio, aided by the numerous Indians attached to 
their interests, embraced every favorable opportunity 
to invade the northern and western borders of Virginia, 
spreading terror and desolation in their course ; and 
having completed their work of slaughter and ruin, 
they retreated with their plunder over the Alleghany 
mountain, before a force could be collected to attack 
them. Governor Dinwiddie was not himself a soldier, 
nor did he possess a mind to comprehend the nature 
of this mode of warfare. Jealous of his prerogative, 
and obstinate in his temper, his orders were often in- 
adequate to their object, or impracticable in their na- 
ture. The military code of the colony was insufficient, 
which rendered it impossible to bring the militia into 



24 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1755. 

the field with the despatch necessary to repel an In- 
dian invasion ; and her martial laws did not possess 
vigor to prevent insubordination in officers, or secure 
discipline in the permanent troops. The colony was 
at that time too poor, or too improvident, seasonably 
to lay up magazines for the use of her little army, or 
to keep money in the military chest for its regular 
payment. 

Under all these embarrassments, Colonel Washing- 
ton entered on the duties of his commission. Having 
put the recruiting service in operation, he visited the 
line of posts on the frontiers, and established the best 
regulations their state admitted, to keep the petty 
garrisons vigilant and alert. 

He had accomplished this necessary business, and 
nearly completed a journey to Williamsburg, to settle 
with the Governor the plan of operations ; and to press 
upon him, and other officers of government, the im- 
portance of legislative interference to conciliate those 
Indians who were not already attached to the French, 
and to adopt effectual means and regulations to sup- 
port and discipline the troops ; when information 
reached him of an eruption of the French and Indians 
on the northern border. In haste he returned to Win- 
chester, and found the country in the utmost alarm 
and confusion. The small garrisons conceived them- 
selves to be in danger in their fortresses, and were 
unable to protect the open country. The inhabitants 
on the extreme frontier, instead of uniting their force 
for mutual safety, fell back and communicated their fears 
to more interior places Orders to call the militia into 
the field were unavailing ; the solicitude and exertion of 
each individual were directed to the immediate pres- 
ervation of his family and property. The sufferings 



1756] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 25 

of his countrymen deeply wounded the heart of Colo- 
nel Washington. Every measure was adopted that 
an enterprising spirit could suggest ; and all the means 
he possessed were judiciously and strenuously exerted 
for their protection ; but all were ineffectual. He was 
compelled to be the witness of the calamity of friends, 
whom he could not relieve ; and of the carnage and 
ravages of a ferocious enemy, whom he could not chas- 
tise. Before a force from below could be collected, 
the invading foe, having glutted their appetite for 
blood, and loaded themselves with spoil, recrossed the 
mountain. 

Three years' service affords little else than a repe- 
tition of scenes of a similar*nature ; scenes which oc- 
casioned these settlements the utmost horror and dis- 
tress, and brought the fortitude and military resources 
of the Commander to a severe test ; but which, in re- 
cital, would swell this work beyond the designed 
bounds. The regiment never consisted of more than 
one thousand effective men. Colonel Washington, in 
addition to the appropriate duty of his commission, 
was obliged to superintend the operations of each sub- 
ordinate department, and to attend to the wants of 
the impoverished inhabitants. 

During this period, he unremittingly urged upon the 
Executive and Legislature of his province, the insuf- 
ficiency of the mode adopted to prosecute the war. 
He earnestly recommended offensive operations, as 
the only measure which would effectually relieve the 
colony from the heavy loss of inhabitants, and from 
the expense of money yearly sustained ; and prevent 
the total depopulation of the fertile plains beyond the 
Blue Ridge. If the necessary co-operation of Great 
Britain, to enable the colony to drive the enemy from 



26 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON 



[<7.S6. 



the Ohio, were unattainable, which would prove a rad- 
ical cure of the evil, he strongly recommended that 
a regular force of two thousand men should be raised. 
By this measure he thought the militia, whose ser- 
vices were attended with incalculable expense, and 
were seldom productive of good, might be relieved 
from temporary draughts. The feelings and views of 
Col. Washington on these subjects will fully appear 
by the following extracts from letters which he wrote 
at the time. In a despatch to the Lieutenant Govern- 
or, he thus paints the situation of the inhabitants 
and the troops : " I see their situation, I know their 
danger, and participate their sufferings, without hav- 
ing it in my power to give them further relief than 
uncertain promises. In short, I see inevitable de- 
struction in so clear a light, that, unless vigorous meas- 
ures are taken by the Assembly, and speedy assist- 
ance sent from below, the poor inhabitants, now in 
forts, must unavoidably fall, while the remainder are 
flying before the barbarous foe. In fine, the melan- 
choly situation of the people, the little prospect of as- 
sistance, the gross and scandalous abuses cast upon 
the officers in general, which is reflecting on me in 
particular, for suffering misconduct of such extraordi- 
nary kind, and the distant prospect, if any, of gaining 
reputation in the service, cause me to lament the hour 
that gave me a commission, and would induce me at 
any other time than this of imminent danger, to re- 
sign without one hesitating moment, a command, from 
which I never expect to reap either honor or benefit ; 
but, on the contrary, have almost an absolute certainty 
of incurring displeasure below, while the murder of 
helpless families may be laid to my account here. 
" The supplicating tears of the women, and moving 



I755-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 2 j 

petitions of the men, melt me with such deadly sorrow, 
that I solemnly declare, if I know my own mind, I 
could offer myself a willing sacrifice to the butchering 
enemy, provided that would conduce to the people's 
ease." 

The inefficiency of the militia he thus portrayed : 
" The inhabitants are so sensible of their danger, if 
left to the protection of these people (militia), that not 
a man will stay at his place. This I have from their 
own mouths, and the principal inhabitants of Augusta 
county. The militia are under such bad order and dis- 
cipline, that they will come and go when and where 
they please, without regarding time, their officers, or 
the safety of the inhabitants. There should be, ac- 
cording to your honors orders, one-third of the mili- 
tia of these parts on duty, at a time ; instead of that, 
scarce one-thirtieth is out. They are to be relieved 
every month, and they are a great part of that time 
marching to and from their stations ; and they will 
not wait one day longer than the limited time, whether 
relieved or not, however urgent the necessity for their 
continuance may be. 

" I met with Col. Buchanan, with about thirty men, 
chiefly officers, to conduct me up Jackson's river, 
along the range of forts. With this small company 
of irregulars, with whom order, regularity, circum- 
spection, and vigilance were matters of derision and 
contempt, we set out, and by the protection of Prov- 
idence, reached Augusta court-house in seven days, 
without meeting the enemy ; otherwise we must have 
been sacrificed by the indiscretion of these whooping, 
hallooing, gentleman soldiers. — This jaunt afforded 
me great opportunity of seeing the bad regulation 
of the militia, the disorderly proceedings of the gar* 



2 g LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [175& 

risons, and the unhappy circumstances of the inhab* 
itants. 

u We are either insensible of danger until it breaks 
upon our heads, or else through mistaken notions of 
economy, evade the expense until the blow is struck, 
and then run into an extreme of raising the militia. 
These, after an age, as it were, is spent in assembling 
them, come up, make a noise for a time, oppress the 
inhabitants, and then return, leaving the frontiers un- 
guarded as before. This is still our reliance, notwith- 
standing former experience convinces us, if reason did 
not, that the French and Indians are watching the op- 
portunity when we shall be lulled into fatal security 
and unprepared to resist an attack, to invade the 
country, and by ravaging one part, terrify another ; 
that they retreat when our militia assemble, and repeat 
the stroke as soon as they are dispersed ; that they 
send down parties in the intermediate time, to discover 
our motions, procure intelligence, and sometimes to 
divert the troops." 

The expediency of an offensive war, he supported 
by the following observations : 

" The certainty of advantage by an offensive scheme 
of action, renders it, beyond any doubt, much prefera- 
ble to our defensive measures. To prove this to you, 
Sir, requires, I presume, no arguments. Our scattered 
force, so separated and dispersed in weak parties, 
avails little to stop the secret incursions of the sav- 
ages. We can only put them to flight, or frighten them 
to some other part of the country, which answers not 
the end proposed. Whereas, had we strength enough 
to invade their lands, and assault their towns, we 
should restrain them from coming abroad and leaving 
their families exposed. We then should remove the 



1756.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON 29 

principal cause, and have stronger probability of suc- 
cess ; we should be free from the many alarms, mis- 
chiefs, and murders that now attend us ; we should 
inspirit the hearts of our few Indian friends, and gain 
more esteem with them. In short, could Pennsylvania 
and Maryland be induced to join us in an expedition 
of this nature, and to petition his Excellency Lord 
Loudoun for a small train of artillery, with some en- 
gineers, we should then be able, in all human proba- 
bility, to subdue the terror of Fort clu Quesne, re- 
trieve our character with the Indians, and restore peace 
to our unhappy frontiers." 

On supposition that the Assembly should persist in 
the scheme of defensive warfare, he presented to the 
Governor a plan for his opinion This was to es- 
tablish twenty-two forts, reaching from the River Mayo 
to the Potomac, in a line of three hundred and sixty 
miles ; and which were to be garrisoned by a regular 
force, consisting of two thousand men. 

The pride of Governor Dinwiddie was offended by 
these frank communications of a gallant and indepen- 
dent officer. In uncourtly language he censured ad- 
vice, which he could not comprehend, and reproached 
this officer with officiousness and neglect of duty. Col- 
onel Washington felt the reprimand as a patriot, the 
welfare of whose country ever dwelt on his heart; and 
like a soldier, who had an invaluable prize in his own 
reputation. In the consciousness of having made the 
highest efforts faithfully to execute the trust reposed 
in him, he thus with spirit replied to the charge, in a 
letter to a friend. " Whence it arises, or why, I am 
ignorant, but my strongest representations of matters 
relative to the peace of the frontiers are disregarded 
as idle and frivolous ; my propositions and measures, 



3 o LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1756. 

as partial and selfish ; and all my sincerest endeavors 
for the service of my country, perverted to the worst 
purposes. My orders are dark, doubtful, and uncer- 
tain. To-day approved, to-morrow condemned ; left 
to act and proceed at hazard ; accountable for the 
consequences, and blamed without the benefit of 
defence. If you can think my situation capable of 
exciting the smallest degree of envy, or of affording 
the least satisfaction, the truth is yet hid from you, 
and you entertain notions very different from the 
reality of the case. However, I am determined to 
bear up under all these embarrassments some time 
longer, in the hope of better regulations under Lord 
Loudoun, to whom I look for the future fate of Vir- 
ginia." 

To the Governor himself, in answer to a commu- 
nication from him, which conveyed a censure, he 
wrote, " I must beg leave, before I conclude, to ob- 
serve, in justification of my own conduct, that it is 
with pleasure I receive reproof when reproof is due, 
because no person can be readier to accuse me, than 
I am to acknowledge an error when I have committed 
it : nor more desirous of atoning for a crime, when I 
am sensible of being guilty of one. But, on the other 
hand, it is with concern I remark, that my best endeav- 
ors lose their reward, and that my conduct, although 
I have uniformly studied to make it as unexcep- 
tionable as I could, does not appear to you in a favor- 
able point of light. Otherwise your Honor would 
not have accused me of loose behavior and remissness 
of duty in matters where I think I have rather ex- 
ceeded than fallen short of it. This, I think, is evi- 
dently the case in speaking of Indian affairs at all, 
after being instructed in very express terms, 6 Not to 



1756.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 3I 

have any concern viitJi, or management of Indian 
affairs! This has induced me to forbear mentioning 
the Indians in my letters to your Honor of late, and 
to leave the misunderstanding which you speak of, 
between Mr. Alkin and them, to be related by him." 

He had been informed by letter of a report commu- 
nicated to the Governor, impeaching his veracity and 
honor. A copy of this letter he enclosed to his 
Honor, earnestly requesting of him the name of the 
author of this report. " I should take it infinitely kind 
if your Honor would please to inform me, whether a 
report of this nature was ever made to you, and in that 
case, who was the author of it ? 

" It is evident, from a variety of circumstances and 
especially from the change in your Honor's conduct 
towards me, that some person as well inclined to de- 
tract, but better skilled in the art of detraction than 
the author of the above stupid scandal, has made free 
with my character. For I cannot suppose that malice 
so absurd, so barefaced, so diametrically opposite to 
truth, to common policy, and in short to everything 
but villany, as the above is, could impress you with so 
ill an opinion of my honor and honesty. 

u If it be possible that Colonel , for my belief 

is staggered, not being conscious of having given the 
least cause to any one, much less to that gentleman, 

to reflect so grossly. I say, if it be possible that 

could descend so low, as to be the propagator of this 
story, he must be either vastly ignorant of the state of 
affairs in this country at that time y or else he must 
suppose that the whole body of inhabitants had com- 
bined with me in executing the deceitful fraud. Or 
why did they, almost to a man, forsake their dwell- 
ings in the greatest terror and confusion ? And 



32 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1756 

while one-half of them sought shelter in paltry forts 
of their own building, the others should flee to the 
adjacent counties for refuge; numbers of them even 
to Carolina, from whence they have never returned ? 

" These are facts well known ; but not better 
known, than that these wretched people, while they 
lay pent up in forts, destitute of the common sup- 
ports of life (having, in their precipitate flight, for- 
gotten, or were unable rather to secure any kind of 
necessaries) did dispatch messengers (thinking that I 
had not represented their miseries in the piteous 
manner they deserved), with addresses of their own 
to your Honor and the Assembly, praying relief. And 
did I ever send any alarming account, without send- 
ing also the original papers, or the copies, which gave 
rise to it. 

44 That I have foibles, and perhaps many, I shall 
not deny. I should esteem myself, as the world 
also would, vain and empty, were I to arrogate per- 
fection. 

44 Knowledge in military matters is to be acquired 
by practice and experience only, and if I have erred, 
great allowance should be made for my errors for 
want of them, unless those errors should appear to 
be wilful ; and then I conceive it would be more gen- 
erous to charge me with my faults, and let me stand 
or fall according to evidence, than to stigmatize me 
behind my back. 

44 It is uncertain in what light my services may 
have appeared to your Honor, but this I know, and it 
is the highest consolation I am capable of feeling, 
that no man that ever was employed in a public ca- 
pacity has endeavored to discharge the trust reposed 
in him with greater honesty, and more zeal for the 



I757-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 33 

country's interest, than I have done ; but if there is 
any person living, who can say, with justice, that I 
have offered any intentional wrong to the public, I 
will cheerfully submit to the most ignominious pun- 
ishment that an injured people ought to inflict. On 
the other hand, it is hard to have my character 
arraigned, and my actions condemned without an 
hearing. 

M I must, therefore, again beg, in more plain, and in 

very earnest terms, to know if has taken the 

liberty of representing my conduct to your Honor, 
with such ungentlemaniy freedom as the letter im- 
plies ? Your condescension herein will be acknowl- 
edged a singular favor." 

Soon after this transaction, Mr. Dinwiddie left the 
government, and Mr. Blair, the president of the Coun- 
cil, became, for a short time, the Executive, between 
whom and Colonel Washington perfect confidence 
and free communication existed. 

1757. This year Lord Loudoun succeeded to the 
civil government of Virginia, and to the chief com- 
mand of the British troops in North America. Colo- 
nel Washington obtained permission to wait upon 
him the succeeding w r inter; to whom he presented 
an address from his regiment, and communicated from 
himself a statement of the military situation of the 
colony. In this he pointed out the error of the gov- 
ernment in the management of the war, and particu- 
larly in their depending on the aid of the militia ; and 
clearly stated the superior advantages of offensive 
operations. 

Colonel Washington was sanguine in the expec- 
tation that Lord Loudoun would adopt his darling 
scheme of an expedition to dispossess the French of 

3 



34 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1758. 

Fort du Quesne ; but his Lordship having determined 
to direct his force against Ticonderoga, he was again 
disappointed. 

At the close of the year 1757, General Abercrom- 
bie was appointed to the supreme command in Amer- 
ica, and General Forbes commissioned as the com- 
mander of the middle district. To the high gratifi- 
cation of Colonel Washington, the conquest of du 
Quesne became a principal object. 

1758. Colonel Washington, not expecting to be 
placed on the establishment, had determined to re- 
sign his commission ; but he thought the expedition 
for this purpose presented a fair prospect of distin- 
guished service, and he resolved to engage in it. 

He warmly recommended an early campaign ; for 
this, among other reasons, seven hundred Indians 
had, in April, assembled at Winchester, whose pa- 
tience would be exhausted unless early employed ; and 
in that event, he observes, " No words can tell how 
much they will be missed/' 

He was at length ordered to collect the Virginia 
troops at Winchester, and to hold them in readiness 
for active service. At this late moment, when the 
duties of the field demanded his attention, he was 
obliged to make a journey to Williamsburg, to provide 
arms, clothing, and money for his regiment; and to 
obtain for his soldiers the same pay which the As- 
sembly, in their last session, had voted to a regiment 
raised for the present campaign. 

Early in July the Virginia forces were moved to 
Cumberland, and through the month employed in 
opening a road from that place to Raystown. Flying 
parties of the enemy greatly annoying them in their 
business, it was contemplated to send a detachment 



1758.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 35 

over the mountain, to restrain the French and In- 
dians from this annoyance ; but Col. Washington 
objected to the measure, because the detachment 
would be exposed to the whole force of the enemy on 
the Ohio, and must be defeated. The plan was in 
consequence given up; and by his advice frequent 
scouts, consisting principally of Indians, were substi- 
tuted. The prediction of Colonel Washington, re- 
specting the body of Indians at Winchester, was 
verified ; before the campaign opened their patience 
was exhausted, and they retired to their homes. 

It was confidently expected that the army would 
march by Braddock's road, which needed only slight 
repairs ; but on the last of this month, Col. Bouquet, by 
letter, requested an interview with Colonel Washing- 
ton, to consult with him on opening a new route. In 
reply he wrote : " I shall most cheerfully work on any 
road, pursue any route, or enter on any service that 
the General or yourself may think me usefully em- 
ployed in, or qualified for ; and shall never have a will 
of my own when a duty is required of me. But since 
you desire me to speak my sentiments freely, permit 
me to observe, that after having conversed with all 
the guides, and having been informed by others ac- 
quainted with the country, I am convinced that a 
road to be compared with Gen. Braddock's, or, indeed, 
that will be fit for transportation, even by pack-horses, 
cannot be made. I own I have no predilection for the 
route you have in contemplation for me." 

Notwithstanding every remonstrance, he found" 
Col. Bouquet determined to open the new road. That 
nothing in his power might be omitted to prevent the 
adoption of a scheme which he thought would proba- 
bly defeat the expedition, he addressed a letter to this 



3<5 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[i 75 3. 



officer, with the express design that it should be laid 
before General Forbes, then indisposed ; in which he 
gave the following reasons for the preference of Brad- 
dock's road : 

When individuals of Pennsylvania and Virginia, he 
said, were about to establish a trade with the natives 
on the Ohio, they, under Indian guides, explored the 
country, and adopted the road by Will's Creek as the 
best route. This road had been opened by the Ohio 
company in 1753, and had been repaired in 1754 by 
the troops under his command, as far as Gist's plan- 
tation, beyond the Great Meadows. In 1755 it had 
been put in good order by General Braddock, and 
could with little labor be fitted for use. This road, 
therefore, must be preferable to a new route over 
ground not more favorable. In respect to forage 
there could be no material difference. The hills 
on both routes were barren, and the valleys between 
them abounded with grass. The objection to Brad- 
dock's road, he observed, on account of high waters, 
was not founded ; he had himself passed with a body 
of men, the Yohogany, the most rapid stream, and 
the soonest filled of any on the road, after thirty days 
of almost incessant rain. The Monongahela might 
be avoided. The defiles on Raystown road were as 
numerous as on Braddock' s, and the saving in dis- 
tance was inconsiderable. But the insuperable ob- 
jection to the new route, he observed, was the time 
that must be expended in opening it The distance 
was little short of an hundred miles, over mountains 
almost impassable, and covered with woods and rocks. 
The most that could be expected, he said, on this 
route the present season, would be to gain the height 
of land, there erect fortifications, and wait the return 



! 75 3.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 37 

of spring. This delay must be attended with ruinous 
consequences to the colonies, which had exerted them- 
selves beyond their strength to drive the French from 
the Ohio the present campaign. 

In the same letter, he communicated an order of 
march on Braddock's road, which would bring the 
army in sixty-four days before Fort du Quesne, with 
provisions for eighty-six days. He also wrote to Major 
Halket, aid of Gen. Forbes, to engage his good offices 
to prevent the fatal plan. " I am just returned from a 
conference held with Col. Bouquet. I find him fixed — 
I think I may say, unalterably fixed, to lead you a new 
way to the Ohio, through a road, every inch of which 
is to be cut at this advanced season, when we have 
scarcely time left to tread the beaten track, universally 
confessed to be the best passage through the mountain, 

" If Colonel Bouquet succeeds in this point with the 
General, all is lost ! All is lost indeed ! Our enter- 
prise is ruined, and we shall be stopped at the Laurel 
Hill this winter — but not to gather laurels, except of 
the kind which cover the mountains. The southern 
Indians will turn against us, and these colonies will be 
desolated by such an accession to the enemy's strength. 
These must be the consequences of a miscarriage, and 
a miscarriage the almost necessary consequence of an 
attempt to march the army by this route." 

The judgment and advice of Colonel Washington 
in this important measure were overruled, and to his 
extreme mortification, the new route of the army was 
adopted. The disappointment and gloomy prospect 
which he entertained, are strongly expressed m the 
following letter, written from Cumberland, to the 
Speaker of the House of Burgesses : — 

" We are still encamped here, very sickly and 



38 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [175a 

Sept 2 dispirited at the prospect before us. That 
J 75 8 - appearance of glory which we once had in 
view, even that hope, that laudable ambition of serv- 
ing our country, and meriting its applause, are now 
no more ; all is dwindled into ease, sloth, and fatal 
inactivity. In a word, all is lost, if the ways of men 
in power, like certain ways of Providence, are not 
inscrutable. But we, who view the actions of great 
men at a distance, can only form conjectures agreeably 
to a limited perception ; and, being ignorant of the 
comprehensive schemes which may be in contempla- 
tion, might mistake egregiously in judging of things 
from appearances, or by the lump. Yet every fool will 
have his notions, will prattle and talk away ; and why 
may not I ? We seem then, in my opinion, to act 
under the guidance of an evil genius. The conduct of 
our leaders, if not actuated by superior orders, is 
tempered with something — I do not care to give a 
name to. Nothing now but a miracle can bring this 
campaign to a happy issue." 

Mentioning the arguments he had brought against 
the new road, he proceeds : " But I spoke all unavail- 
ingly. The road was immediately begun, and since 
then, from one to two thousand men have constantly 
wrought on it. By the last accounts I have received, 
they had cut to the foot of Laurel Hill, about thirty- 
five miles, and I suppose by this time, fifteen hundred 
men have taken post about ten miles further, at a 
place called Loyal Hanna, where our next fort is to be 
constructed. 

" We have certain intelligence, that the French 
strength at Fort du Quesne did not exceed eight hun- 
dred men, the 13th ultimo, including about three or 
four hundred Indians. See how our time has been 



175-3.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON 39 

misspent. Behold how the golden opportunity is lost, 
perhaps never more to be regained ! How is it to be 
accounted for ? Can General Forbes have orders for 
this? Impossible. Will then our injured country 
pass by such abuses ? I hope not ; rather let a full 
representation of the matter go to his Majesty ; let him 
know how grossly his glory and interests, and the pub- 
lic money have been prostituted." 

Col. Grant, with a force of eight hundred men, hav- 
ing been detached to reconnoitre the country, in the 
neighborhood of the Ohio, was about this time de- 
feated with loss ; and himself, and Major Lewis of 
Colonel Washington's regiment, were taken prisoners. 
Three companies of this regiment were on the expe- 
dition, and behaved with great bravery. Of eight offi- 
cers belonging to these companies, on this service, 
five were killed, one wounded, and one taken prisoner. 
Capt. Bullet, who had charge of the baggage, defended 
it with great resolution, and did much to protect the 
defeated troops ; he fortunately came off the field with- 
out a wound. This spirited and soldierly conduct the 
Britons acknowledged to be highly honorable to the 
troops themselves, and to the Commander, who trained 
them to the service. General Forbes complimented 
Colonel Washington on the occasion. 

Colonel Washington was at this time employed on 
the new road, in the neighborhood of Raystown. 

General Forbes resolved that the main army 
should move from this place : and he called 0cT c s * 
upon the commanding officers of regiments to 
lay before him a plan for its march. Colonel Wash- 
ington presented his ; it has been preserved, and is 
said to display the soundness of his judgment. 

Through a road almost impassable, the army at 



40 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1758. 

length reached Loyal Hanna, about ten miles from 
the foot of Laurel Hill, and forty-five from Fort Cum- 
berland. At this place Colonel Washington had pre- 
dicted the expedition would terminate. In a council 
of war it was actually resolved to be unadvisable to 
proceed further this autumn. To have wintered in 
this inhospitable wilderness would, perhaps, have been 
impossible; but before any disposition of the army 
was made, intelligence was brought by some prisoners, 
that the garrison of Fort du Qnesne had not been sup- 
ported from Canada; that the Indians had deserted it ; 
and, that it was not in a situation to make resistance. 
This intelligence induced General Forbes to change 
his resolution, and to push on to the Ohio. Colonel 
Washington was ordered to the front to superintend 
opening the road for the army ; which duty he, with 
extreme fatigue, executed. In slow and laborious 

marches, General Forbes reached du Quesne 
N i758 5 ' anc * f° un d that the French, on the evening 

preceding his arrival, had set fire to this fort, 
and had passed in their boats down the river 

The success of the campaign was wholly to be at- 
tributed to the pressure of the English on Canada, 
which constrained the French commander-in-chief to 
call in, or weaken his outposts ; but for this circum- 
stance, the gloomy predictions of Colonel Washington 
would have been verified, in the failure of the expe- 
dition. 

The fort being repaired, was called Fort Pitt, in 
compliment to the pre-eminent British Minister, un- 
der whose auspices the war was now conducted. 

Colonel Washington furnished two hundred men 
of his regiment to the garrison, and soon after re- 
turned to Williamsburg to take his seat in the House 



1758.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON 4I 

of Burgesses, of which, in his absence, he had been 
chosen a member. 

His services, while commander of the Virginia 
forces, were appreciated by his countrymen ; and the 
British officers with whom he served bore honorable 
testimony to his military talents. The soldierly and 
gallant behavior of his regiment in the field, exhibited 
the best evidence of the address of their commander 
in training them to exact discipline, and exciting in 
them a martial spirit. His officers expressed the 
great affection and respect which they entertained for 
his character, by an unanimous address, presented to 
him at the close of this campaign ; and the inhabi- 
tants of the frontiers placed full confidence in him, 
even at a time when he was unable to defend them 
from the slaughter and devastation of the enemy. 

Colonel Washington now saw the great object at- 
tained, to which for years he had directed his whole 
mind. The enemy was driven from the Ohio, and his 
country, in a great measure, relieved from the car- 
nage and distress of an Indian war. His health was 
impaired by the arduous services of the campaign ; 
and his private concerns demanded his attention. He 
therefore resigned his military commission, and retired 
to the tranquil scenes of domestic life. 



4 2 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1759. 



CHAPTER II. 

Colonel Washington's Marriage — His management of the Estate 
of Mount Vernon — Appointed a Judge of the County Court, 
and a Member of the Virginia Legislature — Chosen a Mem- 
ber of the first Congress — Appointed Commander-in-Chief of 
the American Forces — Arrives at Camp — Arranges the Army 
— Deficiency of Arms and Ammunition — Colonel Arnold de- 
tached to Quebec — Success of American Cruisers — Evils of 
Temporary Enlistments — An attack on the Enemy's Posts 
meditated — Possession taken of the Heights of Dorchester 
— Boston evacuated. 

1759. Soon after the resignation of his military 
commission, Colonel Washington married Mrs. Mar- 
tha Custis, a young and beautiful widow, who possessed 
an ample fortune, and who was endowed with those 
amiable and pleasing accomplishments of mind and 
manners which give the best security for happiness 
in the married state. With her he lived in all the 
confidence, endearment, and felicity which this rela- 
tion can produce. 

On his estate of Mount Vernon, he extensively en- 
gaged in the business of agriculture, and was greatly 
distinguished for the judgment he displayed in the 
improvement of his lands. Every branch of business 
was conducted upon system, exact method and econ- 
omy were observed throughout every department of his 
household, the accounts of his overseers he weekly 
inspected, the divisions of his farm were numbered, 
the expense of cultivation, and the produce of each lot 
were regularly registered ; and, at one view he could 
determine the profits or loss of any crop, and ascertain 



I75974-] LIFE 0F WASHINGTON. 43 

the respective advantages of particular modes of hus- 
bandry. He became one of the greatest landholders 
in North America. Besides other great and valuable 
tracts, his Mount Vernon estate consisted of nine thou- 
sand acres, all under his own management ; on which, 
for one year, he raised seven thousand bushels of 
wheat and ten thousand of Indian corn. His domes- 
tic and farming establishments were composed of 
nearly a thousand persons ; and the woollen and linen 
cloth necessary for their use, was chiefly manufac- 
tured on the estate.* 

Order and industry were carried into all his concerns. 
The authority he exercised over his slaves was blended 
with great tenderness and humanity, and their affec- 
tion and gratitude ensured a prompt and cheerful 
obedience to his comma ds. Mount Vernon was ever 
the seat of hospitality, and here its rights were liber- 
ally exercised. Colonel Washington, although exact 
in requiring the punctual fulfilment of contracts and 
engagements, yet was diffusive in offices of humanity 
and deeds of charity to those of his vicinity who 
needed his assistance. 

From the close of the war on the frontiers of Vir- 
ginia, to the commencement of the revolutionary 
contest, Colonel Washington acted as a Judge of a 
County Court, and represented his district in the 
House of Burgesses of his province. Although never 
distinguished as a popular speaker, yet the soundness 
of his judgment, the wisdom of his counsels, and the 
uniform propriety of his behavior, secured him the 
confidence and esteem of all who were acquainted 
with his character. 

While a legislator of Virginia, he took an active 

* See u Legacies of Washington ; ' printed at Trenton in 1800. 



44 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775. 

part in opposition to the principle assumed by the 
British Parliament, to tax the American colonies. 
When it became expedient to train the militia for the 
defence of those rights, which the country determined 
never to sacrifice, the independent companies in the 
northern part of Virginia chose him their commander. 

He was elected a member of the first Congress, 
which met in Philadelphia in 1774 ; in which body he 
had a distinguished agency in the arrangement of the 
military resources of the United Provinces. He was 
the active member of all committees, to which busi- 
ness of this nature was entrusted. 

At the commencement of hostilities, Con- 
J u 1 *7 5 * 5 ' gress deemed it necessary to appoint a Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the American forces. The 
eminent character of Colonel Washington pointed 
him out as the best qualified to unite the confidence 
of the public, and successfully to conduct the ardu- 
ous conflicts of the war. Congress unanimously 
elected him " General and Commander-in-Chief of the 
United Colonies, and of all the forces now raised, and 
to be raised by them." When the President of Con- 
gress communicated his election, he thus addressed 
him : — 

" Mr. President, although I am truly sensible of the 
high honor done me in this appointment, yet I feel 
great distress from a consciousness that my abilities 
and military experience may not be equal to the ex- 
tensive trust. However, as the Congress desire it, I 
will enter upon the momentous duty, and exert every 
power I possess in their service, and for the support 
of the glorious cause. I beg they will accept my most 
cordial thanks for this distinguished testimony of their 
approbation. 



1775 ] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 4S 

" But lest some unlucky event should happen, un- 
favorable to my reputation, I beg it may be remem- 
bered by every gentleman in the room, that I this day 
declare, with the utmost sincerity, I do not think my- 
self equal to the command lam honored with. I beg 
leave, Sir, to assure the Congress, that as no pecu- 
niary consideration could have tempted me to accept 
this arduous employment, at the expense of my 
domestic ease and happiness, I do not wish to make 
any profit from it. I will keep an exact account of my 
expenses. Those, I doubt not, they will discharge, 
and that is all I desire." 

Congress, when his commission was executed, 
unanimously and solemnly resolved, to support him 
with their lives and fortunes, as the General of their 
army, in defence of the country. General Washington 
instantly prepared to enter upon the eventful duties of 
his command. The difficulties which he was to en- 
counter will clearly appear from a slight view of the 
state of the country, and of the condition of the 
army. 

As a means to repel the encroachments of the 
British Parliament, the American merchants had 
generally entered into resolutions, not to import 
articles of merchandise from Great Britain ; and at 
the commencement of the war, the country was, in a 
great degree, destitute of ammunition, and of every 
material necessary to clothe an army, and furnish the 
men with tents. There were no considerable maga- 
zines of provisions and few tools suitable for the work 
of fortification. The men who composed the army 
were raised by different States, on short enlistments, 
and on different establishments ; and they carried 
into the camp, the feelings and habits formed by 



4 6 LIFE OF WASHINGTON [1775. 

their respective pursuits in private life. They were 
animated by the love of liberty, and possessed the 
resolution and bravery of hardy yeomen : but they 
could not easily be brought to submit to the rigid 
rules of military subordination and discipline,- The 
authority of Congress and of different Colonies was 
blended in all the arrangements of the army. These 
causes occasioned numerous and complicated embar- 
rassments to the Commander-in-Chief. 

The appointment of General Washington was uni- 
versally approved. On his journey to head-quarters, 
he met with the most respectful attention, and re- 
ceived the fullest assurances of assistance and sup- 
port. He was escorted by companies of volunteers ; 
and, at Springfield, a hundred miles from Boston, a 
Committee of the Congress of Massachusetts met, 
and attended him to Cambridge. 

On his arrival that body presented him an 
^i77 5 . 2 ' address, in which they expressed their entire 
satisfaction with his appointment,.and pledged 
the most effectual co-operation with his measures, in 
their power. His answer was well calculated to in 
crease the attachment to his person, and the confi- 
dence in his talents, which the public already enter- 
tained, 

" Gentlemen, your kind congratulations on my ap- 
pointment and arrival, demand my warmest acknowl- 
edgments, and will ever be retained in grateful re- 
membrance. In exchanging the enjoyment of do- 
mestic life for the duties of my present honorable, 
but arduous situation, I only emulate the virtue and 
public spirit of the whole Province of Massachusetts, 
which, with a firmness and patriotism without an ex- 
ample, has sacrificed all the comforts of social and 



177 5 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 47 

political life, in support of the rights of mankind, and 
the welfare of our common country. My highest 
ambition is to be the happy instrument of vindicating 
these rights, and to see this devoted Province again 
restored to peace, liberty, and safety." 

The British army, at this time, commanded by 
General Gage, was strongly posted in three divisions ; 
on Bunker's Hill, a mile from the ferry of Charles's 
River, on Cop's Hill in Boston, and on Roxbury neck. 
These fortified posts secured the isthmus of Boston, 
and that of Charlestown, the only avenues by land 
into those towns. Floating batteries and armed ships, 
stationed in the waters which surround Boston, sup- 
ported the positions of the British and kept open the 
communications between them. 

The American army was posted at Roxbury, Cam- 
bridge, and on Winter and Prospect Hills, in front of 
Bunkers Hill. These positions formed a crescent of 
twelve miles in extent. After reconnoitring the situ- 
ation of the enemy, and examining the state of his 
own army, the General attempted a better organiza- 
tion of the troops. He formed them into three divi- 
sions ; the division at Roxbury formed the right wing 
of the army, and was commanded bv General Ward : 
the division on Prospect and Winter Hills composed 
the left wing, and was commanded by General Lee ; 
and the troops at Cambridge formed the centre, and 
were commanded by General Washington in person. 
The forces were deemed incompetent to defend this 
extended camp, but the situation of the country did 
not favor a more compact arrangement; nor could 
the neighboring country be otherwise defended from 
the depredations of the enemy. 

These positions were secured by lines and forts ; 



4 8 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



U775- 



and a few companies of men were posted in the towns 
around Boston Bay, most exposed to annoyance by 
British armed vessels. 

General Washington found himself embarrassed by 
the total want of system in every department of the 
army. In the execution of the duties of his commis- 
sion, it became necessary to open a correspondence, 
not only with the Continental Congress, and with 
most of the Governments of the Colonies, but also 
with the Committees of all those towns which fur- 
nished supplies for the army, In a letter to Congress 
on this subject, he observes : — 

" I should be extremely deficient of gratitude, as 
well as justice, if I did not take the first opportunity 
to acknowledge the readiness and attention which the 
Congress, and the different Committees have shown, 
to make everything as convenient and agreeable as 
possible ; but there is a vital and inherent principle of 
delay, incompatible with military service, in transact- 
ing business through such various and different chan- 
nels. I esteem it my duty, therefore, to represent 
the inconvenience that must unavoidably ensue from 
a dependence on a number of persons for supplies, 
and submit it to the consideration of Congress, 
whether the public service will not be the best pro- 
moted by appointing a Commissary-General for the 
purpose/' 

An inquiry into the state of the magazine of pow- 
der was among the first cares of General Washing- 
ton, and three hundred and three barrels in store was 
the return made to him. Soon after he discovered, 
that this return embraced the whole quantity brought 
into camp, without deducting what had been ex- 
pended ; and that there remained on hand only suf- 



\ 



1775 J LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 49 

ficient to furnish the army with nine cartridges a man. 
While the greatest caution was used to keep this 
alarming fact a secret, the utmost exertions were em- 
ployed to obtain a supply of this article of absolute 
necessity in war. Application was made to all the 
Colonies, and measures were adopted to import pow- 
der into the country. The immediate danger was 
soon removed by an arrival of a small quantity sent 
from Elizabethtown, in New Jersey. Under the 
perplexities which arose from the defect of arms, the 
want of clothing and magazines, from the want of en- 
gineers, and from the confused state of the staff de- 
partment, the mind of General Washington was, in 
some measure, cheered by a view of the men who 
composed his troops. " It requires," says he, in a 
letter to the President of Congress, " no military skill 
to judge of the difficulty of introducing proper discip- 
line and subordination into an army, while we have 
the enemy in view, and are daily in expectation of an 
attack ; but it is of so much importance, that every 
effort will be made that time and circumstances will 
admit. In the mean time, I have a sincere pleasure 
in observing that there are materials for a good army ; 
a great number of able-bodied men, active, zealous in 
the cause, and of unquestionable courage." The de- 
tails of the departments of the Paymaster, Quarter- 
master, and Commissary, fell upon General Wash- 
ington, and he urged Congress to fill them. Being 
himself authorized to make the appointments, he 
called to his assistance the general staff, which is 
necessary for the regular support and expeditious 
movements of an army ; and assiduously prosecuted 
plans to organize and discipline his troops. 

General Gage had, at his disposal, a force consist- 

4 



5 o LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775. 

ing of eight thousand men, and, by the aid of his 
shipping, he was enabled to direct it to any point of 
the extended lines of the Americans, whose army did 
not amount to more than fourteen thousand and five 
hundred men. General Washington was fully ap- 
prised of his danger, and early summoned the general 
officers to deliberate upon the expediency of attempt- 
ing to support their present position, or of taking one 
in their rear more compact. Th^ council with unan- 
imity advised to remain in their present lines. The 
reasons in support of this opinion were, the imme- 
diate effect which a retrograde movement would have 
to animate the British, and to depress the American 
troops ; the unfavorable impression that would be 
made upon the public mind : the devastation of the 
fertile country, that must be opened to the enemy, 
and the difficulty of finding a strong position in the 
rear. As a precautionary measure, it was determined 
that they would not take possession of the heights of 
Dorchester, nor oppose the attempt of General Gage 
to gain them. In case of an attack and defeat, the 
heights in Cambridge,* and the rear of the lines in 
Roxbury, were appointed as places of rendezvous. 
The enemy was watched with vigilant attention ; and 
any movements which threatened a distant invasion* 
were communicated to Congress, and to the Execu- 
tives of the Provinces particularly exposed. 

The enemy had been taught respect for the Ameri- 
can army by the battle of Bunkers Hill, and their 
plans, from that period through the year, were directed 
to self-defence. With little interruption, both armies 
were employed in strengthening their respective lines 



* Judge Marshall denominates these heights, " Welch Mountains.'' This 
name is not known m their vicinity. 



S775-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. S i 

and posts. The few skirmishes which took piace be- 
tween small parties neither in their nature nor their 
consequences merit notice. 

The mere defence of lines did not satisfy the enter- 
prising and patriotic mind of General Washington. 
With extreme anxiety he noticed the expense of the 
campaign, without possessing the means of diminish- 
ing it. 

He knew that his country was destitute of revenue, 
and apprehended that her resources must soon be ex- 
hausted. In a few months the army of course would 
be disbanded, and the enlistment of another he con- 
ceived to be extremely difficult, if practicable ; power- 
ful reinforcements to the enemy were, in the spring, 
to be expected from England ; and he thought it 
doubtful, whether proportionate strength could be col- 
lected in the Colonies to meet them in the field. He 
conceived it, therefore, of vast importance to the 
American cause to subdue the army in Boston, before 
it could be reinforced. An event of this magnitude 
would unite and animate the Coronies, and convince 
Great Britain, that America was determined in her 
opposition to the measures of Parliament. Under 
these impressions he often reconnoitered the enemy, and 
collected information of their numbers and strength 
from every possible source. The attempt to dislodge 
the British he well knew would be attended with ex- 
treme hazard, but it was his opinion, that the proba- 
bility of ultimate success, and the great advantage ac- 
cruing from it, warranted the effort. In a letter to 
the general officers, he stated the questions, to which 
he desired them to direct their close attention ; and 
after sufficient time had been given for deliberation, 
he called them into council to determine, whether an 



S 2 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775 

attack on Boston should be made. The resihc was an 
unanimous opinion, " that for the pres.ent, at least, the 
attempt ought not to be made." To continue the 
blockade, and to strengthen their lines, was all that 
remained in their power. 

Although the Commander-in-Chief acquiesced in 
the decision of the council, yet it was evident, from 
his letter to Congress, that he himself felt inclined to 
risk the attack. Probably this inclination was in- 
creased by the wishes of Congress, previously com- 
municated to him. 

The scarcity of fresh provisions in Boston induced 
the enemy to send small parties to collect the stock 
along the shores of the continent within protecting 
distance of their armed vessels. This imposed a heavy 
burden upon the towns on the seaboard, in the defence 
of their property ; and the Governors of several of the 
Colonies were frequent and importunate in their re- 
quest to General Washington to detach forces from 
his army for their protection. He was embarrassed 
by repeated requisitions of this nature. To make the 
required detachments, would expose the main army to 
inevitable destruction ; and to deny the requests, would 
occasion dissatisfactions, which endangered a cause 
that could be supported only by public opinion. To 
relieve him from this embarrassment, Congress passed 
a resolution, " That the army before Boston was de- 
signed only to oppose the enemy in that place, and 
ought not to be weakened by detachments for the 
security of other parts of the country." 

General Washington early gave an example of the 
humane manner in which he determined to conduct 
the war. By the representations of individuals from 
Nova Scotia, Congress was led to suppose that a small 



1775-1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. S3 

force from the American army, aided by those inhabit 
tants of that province who were in the American in-, 
terest, might surprise a British garrison at Fort Cum- 
berland, at the head of the Bay of Fundy, and possess 
themselves of valuable military stores, if not retain 
the country ; the measure was, therefore, recommended 
by that body to their General. On examination he 
found that the stores were of no magnitude, and that 
the expedition would expose the friends of America in 
that Province to inevitable ruin, from the persecutions 
of their own Government, and he discountenanced the 
scheme. The attempt was, however, eventually made 
by a few indiscreet individuals, but it failed, and in- 
volved the inhabitants of Nova Scotia, who engaged 
in it, in the predicted ruin. 

Some of the American cruisers, acting without pub- 
lic orders, brought three of the principal inhabitants 
of the Island of St. John into General Washington's 
camp ; he treated them with the greatest tenderness, 
and permitted them immediately to return to their dis- 
tressed families. 

In the course of the autumn, gradual approaches 
were made towards the British posts. The army be- 
ing strengthened by the arrival of Morgan's Riflemen 
from Virginia, and a number of regiments from Con- 
necticut and Rhode Island, General Washington de- 
cched Colonel Arnold, with a thousand men, 
by the rivers Kennebec, and St. Francis, Sept - 
to co-operate with General Montgomery in 
Canada; and, if possible, to surprise Quebec, the cap- 
ital of that province. Arnold, and about six hundred 
of his men, actuated by unconquerable resolution, with 
inconceivable fatigue reached Quebec. The situation 
of the garrison corresponded with the presumptions on 



j 4 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775 

which the expedition was founded ; but a numner of 
circumstances, not open to human foresight, nor con- 
trollable by human prudence, rendered it unsuccess- 
ful. 

Through the season, the highest endeavors of the 
Commander-in-Chief were exerted to procure arms 
and ammunition for his troops, and partial success at- 
tended the measures adopted in every part of the 
Union to accomplish this important purpose. A suc- 
cessful voyage was also made to Africa, and every 
pound of gunpowder for sale in the British factories 
on that coast was obtained in exchange for New 
England rum. Capt. Manly, in the privateer Lee, 
captured a British ordnance ship, laden with military 
stores, so completely adapted to the wants of the 
American army, that had Congress made out an in- 
voice, a better assortment could not have been pro- 
cured. Considerations respecting the re-enlistment 
of the army lay with immense weight on the mind of 
General Washington, and he repeatedly invited the 
attention of Congress to this subject. In September 
Congress appointed a Committee of their own body 
to repair to Head-Quarters, to consult with the Com- 
mander-in-Chief, and the Executives of the New Eng- 
land Provinces, " on the most effectual method of con- 
tinuing, supporting, and regulating a Continental 
army." The result of their deliberation was, that th© 
new army should consist of twenty thousand, three 
hundred and seventy-two men ; but, unhappily, the 
men were to be enlisted only for one year. The evils 
resulting from short enlistments were severely felt at 
the close of the next campaign, even to the utmost 
hazard of the independence of the country. 

Various causes operated to lead Congress to the at 



I775-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. ss 

most fatal plan of temporary military establishments. 
Among the most important of these, was a prospect 
of accommodation with the parent state. Want of 
experience in the management of war upon an exten- 
sive scale was another. The revolutionary conflict 
placed the people of America in a situation in which 
all the energies of the human mind are brought into 
action, and man makes his noblest efforts ; the occa- 
sion called upon the public theatre statesmen and 
warriors, who, by the wise and honorable execution 
of the complicated duties of their new characters, sur- 
prised the world ; still from them errors of inexperience 
were to be expected. The fear of accumulating ex- 
pense, which the resources of the country could not 
discharge, had a leading influence to deter the Ameri- 
can Government from the adoption of permanent mili- 
tary establishments ; although the recommendations of 
Congress, and the regulations of State Conventions 
had, in the day of enthusiasm, the force of law, yet 
the ruling power thought it inexpedient to attempt to 
raise large sums by direct taxes, at a time when the 
commerce of the country was annihilated, an*d the cul- 
tivators of the ground were subjected to heavy services 
in the field of war. The only recourse was to a paper 
medium, without funds for its redemption, or for the 
support of its credit, and therefore of necessity sub- 
ject to depreciation, and, in its nature, capable of only 
a temporary currency ; Congress, therefore, was justly 
afraid of the expense of a permanent army. Jealousy 
toward a standing army had a powerful influence upon 
the military arrangements of America ; this jealous 
spirit early insinuated itself into the legislative bodies 
of the Colonies, and was displayed in many of their 
measures. It appears in the address presented by the 



j6 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1775. 

Provincial Assembly of New York to General Wash- 
ington, while on his journey to the American camp. 
"We have the fullest assurance, say they, that when- 
ever this important contest shall be decided, by that 
fondest wish of each American soul, an accommodation 
with our Mother Country, you will cheerfully resign 
the important deposit committed into your hands, and 
reassume the character of our worthiest citizen. ' 
Congress, as a body, unquestionably felt this jealousy, 
and was afraid to trust a standing army with the power 
necessary to conduct the war, lest, at its successful 
termination, this army should become the master of 
the country for whose liberties it had fought. The 
plan of temporary enlistments was adopted by Con- 
gress, in the confident persuasion, that draughts on 
every occasion might be made from the militia, to op- 
pose any force Britain could bring into the field ; and 
that the native patriotism and bravery of the Ameri- 
cans would prove superior to the mechanical move- 
ments of disciplined troops. 

There being no magazines of arms in the country, 
the soldiers of the first campaign were of necessity 
permitted to bring their own muskets into service, 
although their different length and size occasioned 
much inconvenience. By the regulation of Congress 
for the new enlistment, the soldiers, who chose not to 
serve another campaign, were not permitted to carry 
home their arms ; but they were to receive payment 
for them by appraisement. Every soldier who en- 
listed was to find a gun, or pay a dollar to the Govern- 
ment for the use of one during the campaign. Every 
soidier, who found himself a blanket was to receive 
two dollars. ' As it was impracticable to clothe the 
army in uniforms, clothes of different colors were 



• 775 .] LIFE OF WASHINGTON 57 

provided, the price of which was to be deducted from 
the wages of the men. 

As soon as the plan of the new army was settled, 
General Washington adopted measures to carry it 
into execution. In general orders he directed, that 
all officers, who intended to decline the service of their 
country at the expiration of their present engagements, 
should in writing make known their intention to their 
respective colonels ; which was to be communicated 
to the general officers commanding brigades. "Those 
brave men, and true patriots, who resolved to con- 
tinue to serve and defend their brethren, privileges, 
and property," were called upon in the same manner 
to make known their intentions, and to consider them- 
selves as engaged to the last of December, 1776, un- 
less sooner discharged by Congress. 

The period of patriotic enthusiasm had, in some 
measure, passed away ; numbers of officers consented 
conditionally to remain in the army, and many made 
no communication on the subject. Immediate deci- 
sion was necessary ; and, in new orders, the Com- 
mander-in-Chief solemnly called upon them 
for a direct and unconditional answer to his Oct. 30. 
inquiry. " The times," he observed, u and the 
importance of the great cause we are engaged in, al- 
low no room for hesitation and delay. When life, lib- 
erty, and property are at stake ; when our country is 
in danger of being a melancholy scene of bloodshed 
and desolation ; when our towns are laid in ashes ; in- 
nocent women and children driven from their peaceful 
habitations, exposed to the rigors of an inclement sea- 
son, to depend, perhaps, on the hand of charity for 
support; when calamities like these are staring us in 
the face, and a brutal enemy are threatening us, and 



58 LIFE OF WASHINGTON [1775 

everything we hold dear, with destruction from foreign 
troops, it little becomes the character of a soldier to 
shrink from danger, and condition for new terms. It 
the is General's intention to indulge both officers 
and soldiers, who compose the new army, with fur- 
loughs for a reasonable time ; but this must be done 
in such a manner as not to injure the service, or 
weaken the army too much at once." 

The troops were assured that clothes, on reasonable 
terms, were provided "for those brave soldiers, who 
intended to continue in the army another year." With 
great difficulty the arrangement of officers was com- 
pleted, and recruiting orders were immediately 
Nov. 12. issued. Recruiting officers were directed to 
"be careful not to enlist any person suspected 
of being unfriendly to the liberties of America, or any 
abandoned vagabond, to whom all causes and countries 
are equal, and alike indifferent. The rights of mankind 
and the freedom of America would have numbers suf- 
ficient to support them, without resorting to such 
wretched assistance. Let those, who wish to put 
shackles upon freemen, fill their ranks with, and place 
their confidence in, such miscreants/' To aid the 
cause, popular songs were composed and circulated 
through the camp, calculated to inspire the soldiery 
with the love of country, and to induce them to engage 
anew in the public service. But, unfortunately, the 
army at this time was badly supplied with clothing, 
provisions, and fuel, and the consequent sufferings of 
the soldiers, operating upon their strong desire to 
visit their homes, prevented their enlistment in the 
expected numbers. On the last day of December, 
when the first term of service expired, only nine thou- 
sand six hundred and fifty men had enlisted for the 



1776 ] 



LIFE OF WAS IINGTON. 



59 



new army, and many of these were of necessity per- 
mitted to be absent on furlough. It was found impos- 
sible to retain the old troops a single day after their 
times expired. General Washington called upon the 
governments of the neighboring provinces for de- 
tachments of militia to man his lines, and he was 
highly gratified by the prompt compliance with his 
demand. In a letter to Congress he writes : " The 
militia that are come in, both from this province and 
New Hampshire, are very fine looking men, and go 
through their duty with great alacrity. The dispatch 
made, both by the people in marching, and by the 
legislative powers in complying with my requisition, 
has given me infinite satisfaction." 

In the space of time, between that of disbanding 
the old army, and of an effective force from the new 
recruits, the lines were often in a defenceless state ; 
the enemy must have known the fact ; and no ade- 
quate reason can be assigned why an attack was not 
made. 

u It is not," says General Washington, in 
his communications to Congress, " in the 
pages of history to furnish a case like ours. 
To maintain a post within musket shot of the enemy, 
for six months together, without ammunition, and, at 
the same time to disband one army and recruit 
another, within that distance of twenty odd British 
regiments, is more, probably, than ever was at- 
tempted. But if we succeed as well in the last, as 
we have heretofore in the first, I shall think it the 
most fortunate event of my whole life." 

To defend the American lines with an incompetent 
number of troops, with defective arms, and without 
an adequate supply of ammunition ; to disband one 



6o 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1776. 



army and recruit another in the face of eight thou- 
sand British soldiers, wilt be viewed as a hazardous 
measure, and will be supposed, with the organization 
and discipline of the men, to have employed every 
active power of the General ; yet this did not satisfy 
his mind. He knew that Congress, with anxious 
solicitude, contemplated more decisive measures, and 
that the country looked for events of greater magni- 
tude. The public was ignorant of his actual situa- 
tion, and conceived his means for offensive operations 
to be much greater than in reality they were ; and 
from him expected the capture or expulsion of the 
British army in Boston. He felt the importance of 
securing the confidence of his countrymen by some 
brilliant action, and was fully sensible that his own 
reputation was liable to suffer, if he confined himself 
solely to measures of defence. To publish to his 
anxious country, in his vindication, the state of his 
army, would be to acquaint the enemy with his weak- 
ness, and to involve his destruction. 

The firmness and patriotism of General Washington 
were displayed in making the good of his country an 
object of higher consideration than the applause of 
those who were incapable of forming a correct opinion 
of the propriety of his measures. On this, and on 
many other occasions during the war, he withstood 
the voice of the populace, rejected the entreaties of 
the sanguine, and refused to adopt the plans of the 
rash, that he might ultimately secure the great object 
of contention. 

While he resolutely rejected every measure that, in 
his calm and deliberate judgment, he did not approve, 
he daily pondered upon the practicability of a success- 
ful attack upon Boston. As a preparatory step, he 



I 7 76.] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



6l 



took possession of Plowed Hill, Cobble Hill, and 
Lechmere's Point, and upon them erected fortifica- 
tions. These posts brought him within half a mile 
of the enemy's works on Bunker's Hill; and, by his 
artillery he drove the British floating batteries from 
their stations in Charles's River. He erected float- 
ing batteries to watch the movements of his enemy, 
and to aid in any offensive operations that circum- 
stances might warrant. He took the opinion of his 
general officers a second time respecting the medi- 
tated attack ; they again unanimously gave their 
opinion in opposition to the measure, and this opinion 
was immediately communicated to Congress. Con- 
gress appeared still to favor the attempt, and, that an 
apprehension of danger to the town of Boston might 
not have an undue influence upon the operations of 
the army resolved, 

" That if General Washington and his 
council of war should be of opinion that a 
successful attack might be made on the troops 
in Boston, he should make it in any manner he might 
think expedient, notwithstanding the town, and prop- 
erty therein, might thereby be destroyed." 

General Howe had, in October, succeeded General 
Gage in the command of the British army, and 
through the winter confined himself to measures of 
defence. 

The inability of the American General to ac- 
complish the great object of the campaign, repeatedly 
pointed out by Congress, was a source of extreme 
mortification ; but he indulged the hope of success in 
some military operations during the winter, that would 
correspond with the high expectations of his country, 
and procure him honor in his exalted station of Com- 



62 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [i 77 6. 

mander-in-Chief of the American armies. In his re- 
ply to the President of Congress, on the re- 
lyy6 6 ' ception of the resolution, authorizing an at- 
tack on the fortified posts in Boston, he ob- 
served : " The resolution relative to the troops in Bos- 
ton, I beg the favor of you, Sir, to assure Congress 
shall be attempted to be put in execution the first mo- 
ment I see a probability of success, and in such a 
way as a council of officers shall think most likely to 
produce it ; but if this should not happen as soon as 
you may expect, or my wishes prompt to, I request 
that Congress will be pleased to revert to my situa- 
tion, and do me the justice to believe that circum- 
stances, and not want of inclination, are the cause of 
delay." 

Early in January, he accordingly summoned a 
council of war, at which Mr. John Adams, then a 
Member of Congress, and Mr. James Warren, Presi- 
dent of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, 
were present ; in which it was resolved, "That a vig- 
orous attempt ought to be made on the ministerial 
troops in Boston, before they can be reinforced in the 
spring, if the means can be provided, and a favorable 
opportunity shall offer." It was also advised, " That 
thirteen regiments of militia should be asked for, from 
Massachusetts and the neighboring colonies, in order 
to put them in a condition to make the attempt. The 
militia to assemble the first of February, and to con- 
tinue, if necessary, until the first of March/' The 
reinforcements thus obtained, amounted to between 
four and five thousand men ; but thus far the winter 
proved unusually mild, and the waters about Boston 
were not frozen. The General, in his official com- 
munication to the National Legislature, says ; " Con- 



1 77 6.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 63 

gress in my last would discover my motives for 
strengthening these lines with the militia, but whether, 
as the weather turns out exceeding mild, insomuch as 
to promise nothing favorable from ice, and there is no 
appearance of powder, I shall be able to attempt any- 
thing decisive, time only can determine. No person 
on earth wishes more earnestly to destroy the nest in 
Boston than I do ; no person would be willing to go 
greater lengths than I shall to accomplish it, if it shall 
be thought advisable ; but if we have neither powder 
to bombard with, nor ice to pass on, we shall be 
in no better situation than we have been in all the 
vear : we shall be worse, because their v/orks are 
stronger." 

While anxiously waiting to embrace any favorable 
opportunity that might present to annoy the enemy, 
General Washington seriously meditated upon the 
importance of establishing a permanent army. His 
experience enabled him to anticipate the evils that 
must ensue at the expiration of the period for which 
the present troops were engaged, and he bent the 
whole force of his mind to induce Congress season- 
ably to adopt measures to prevent them. In a letter 
to the President of Congress, dated February 9, he 
entered thus fully into the subject : — 

" The disadvantages attending the limited enlist- 
ment of troops are too apparent to those who are eye- 
witnesses of them, to render any animadversions 
'necessary, but to gentleman at a distance, whose at- 
tention is engrossed by a thousand important objects, 
the case may be otherwise. 

" That this cause precipitated the fate of the brave 
and much to be lamented General Montgomery, and 
brought on the defeat which followed thereupon, I 



64 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1776 

have not the most distant doubt, for, had he not been 
apprehensive of the troops leaving him at so impor- 
tant a crisis, but continued the blockade of Quebec, a 
capitulation (from the best accounts I have been able 
to collect) must inevitably have followed. And, that 
we were not at one time obliged to dispute these lines, 
under disadvantageous circumstances (proceeding from 
the same cause, to wit, the troops disbanding them- 
selves before the militia could be got in) is to me a 
matter of wonder and astonishment ; and proves that 
General Howe was either unacquainted with our situ- 
ation, or restrained by his instructions from putting 
anything to a hazard till his reinforcements should 
arrive. 

" The instance of General Montgomery (I mention 
it because it is a striking one ; for a number of others 
might be adduced) proves, that instead of having men 
to take advantage of circumstances, you are in a man- 
ner compelled, right or wrong, to make circumstances 
yield to a secondary consideration. Since the first of 
December, I have been devising every means in my 
power to secure these encampments ; and though I am 
sensible that we never have, since that period, been 
able to act upon the offensive, and at times not in a 
condition to defend, yet the cost of marching home 
one set of men, bringing in another, the havoc and 
waste occasioned by the first, the repairs necessary 
for the second, with a thousand incidental charges 
and inconveniences which have arisen, and which it 
is scarce possible to recollect or describe, amount to 
near as much as the keeping up a respectable body of 
troops the whole time, ready for any emergency, would 
have done. To this may be added, that you never 
can have a well-disciplined army. 



I77&] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 65 

" To bring men well acquainted with the duties of 
a soldier, requires time. To bring them under proper 
discipline and subordination, not only requires time, 
but is a work of great difficulty ; and m this army, 
where there is so little distinction between the officers 
and soldiers, requires an uncommon degree of atten- 
tion. To expect then the same service from raw and 
undisciplined recruits, as from veteran soldiers, is to 
expect what never did, and perhaps never will hap- 
pen. Men who are familiarized to danger, meet it 
without shrinking ; whereas, those who have never 
seen service, often apprehend danger where no danger 
is. Three things prompt men to a regular discharge 
of their duty in time of action-r— natural bravery, hope 
of reward, and fear of punishment. The two first 
are common to the untutored and the disciplined sol- 
dier ; but the latter most obviously distinguishes the 
one from the other. A coward, when taught to be- 
lieve, that if he break his ranks and abandon his 
colors he will be punished with death by his own 
party, will take his chance against the enemy ; but a 
man who thinks little of the one, and is fearful of the 
other, acts from present feelings, regardless of conse- 
quences. 

" Again, men of 3, day's standing will not look for- 
ward ; and, from experience we find, that as the time 
approaches for their discharge, they grow careless of 
their arms, ammunition, camp utensils, &c. Nay, 
even the barracks themselves, lay us under additional 
expense in providing for every fresh set, when we 
find it next to impossible to procure such articles as 
are absolutely necessary in the first instance. To 
this may be added, the seasoning which new recruits 
must have to a camp and the loss consequent there- 

5 



66 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1776, 



upon. But this is not all : men engaged for a short, 
limited time only, have the officers too much in their 
power ; for to obtain a degree of popularity, in order 
to induce a second enlistment, a kind of familiarity 
takes place, which brings on a relaxation of discipline, 
unlicensed furloughs, and other indulgences, incom- 
patible with order and good government; by which 
means the latter part of the time for which the sol 
dier w r as engaged is spent in undoing what you were 
aiming to inculcate in the first. 

" To go into an enumeration of all the evils we have 
experienced in this late great change of the army, and 
the expenses incidental to it — to say nothing of the 
hazard we have run, and must run, between the dis- 
charging of one army and the enlistment of another, 
unless an enormous expense of militia be incurred — 
would greatly exceed the bounds of a letter. What I 
have already taken the liberty of saying will serve to 
convey a general idea of the matter ; and therefore I 
shall, with all due deference, take the liberty to give 
it as my opinion, that if the Congress have any reason 
to believe that there will be occasion for troops 
another year, and consequently of another enlistment, 
they would save money, and have infinitely better 
troops, if they were, even at a bounty of twenty, 
thirty, or more dollars, to engage the men already en- 
listed, till January next; and such others as may be 
wanted to complete the establishment, for, and during 
the war. I will not undertake to say, that the men can 
be had upon these terms ; but I am satisfied that it 
will never do to let the matter alone, as it was last 
year, till the time of service was near expiring. The 
hazard is too great in the first place ; in the next, the 
trouble and perplexity of disbanding one army and 



I77 &] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 67 

raising another at the same instant, and in such a 
critical situation as the last was, is scarcely in the 
power of words to describe, and such as no man, 
who has experienced it once, will ever undergo 
again/' 

Unhappily, the reasons which first induced Con- 
gress to adopt the plan of short enlistments, still had 
influence on that body, and on many of the general 
officers of the army ; nor were they convinced of their 
error, but by the most distressing experience. 

The ice now became sufficiently strong for 
General Washington to march his forces Feb - I4 * 
upon it, into Boston ; and he was himself in- 
clined to risk a general assault upon the British posts, 
although he had not powder to make any extensive 
use of his artillery ; but his general officers in coun- 
cil voted against the attempt, with whose decision he 
reluctantly acquiesced. In his communication of their 
opinion to Congress, he observed : " Perhaps the irk- 
someness of my situation may have given different 
ideas to me, from those which influence the judgment 
of the gentlemen whom I consulted, and might have 
inclined me to put more to hazard than was consis- 
tent with prudence. If it had this effect, I am not 
sensible of it, as I endeavored to give the subject all 
the consideration a matter of such importance re- 
quired. True it is, and I cannot help acknowledging, 
that I have many disagreeable sensations on account 
of my situation ; for, to have the eyes of the whole 
continent fixed on me, with anxious expectation of 
hearing of some great event, and to be restrained in 
every military operation, for the want of necessary 
means to carry it on, is not very plea-sing ; especially, 
as the means used to conceal my weakness from the 



68 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1776. 

enemy, conceal it also from my friends, and add to 
their wonder." 

By the last of February, the stock of powder was 
considerably increased, and the regular army amounted 
to 14,000 men, which was reinforced by 6,000 of the 
militia of Massachusetts. General Washington now 
resolved to take possession of the Heights of Dor- 
chester, in the prospect that this movement would 
bring on a general engagement with the enemy, under 
favorable circumstances ; or, should this expectation 
fail, from this position he would be enabled to annoy 
the ships in the harbor, and the troops in the town. 
Possessing these heights, he might erect works upon 
the points of land nearest to the southerly part' of 
Boston, which would command the harbor and a 
great part of the town, as well as the beach from 
which an embarkation must be made, in case the 
enemy was disposed to evacuate the place. 

To mask the design, a severe cannonade and bom 
bardment were opened on the British works and lines, 
for several nights in succession. As soon as the 
firing began on the night of the 4th of March, a strong 
detachment marched from Roxbury, over the neck, 
and, without discovery, took possession of the heights. 
General Ward, who commanded the division of the 
army in Roxbury, had, fortunately, provided fascines 
before the resolution passed to fortify the place ; these 
w 7 ere of great use, as the ground was deeply frozen ; 
and, in the course of the night, the party by uncom- 
mon exertions erected works which defended them 
against the shot of the enemy On the next morning, 
the British manifested surprise and consternation at 
sight of the American fortifications. Mutual firings 



i 77 6.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 69 

took place, but with little effect ; and the Americans 
labored indefatigably to complete their works. 

On the contingence of an attack upon Dorchester 
Heights, by a strong force, it had been resolved, that 
four thousand of the American troops, in boats, should 
cross Charles river, protected by three floating batter- 
ies, and attempt to carry the British posts in Boston, 
and open the communication by the neck to the Amer- 
ican forces in Roxbury. 

Admiral Shuldham informed General Howe that 
the Americans must be dislodged, or he could not re- 
main with his fleet in Boston harbor. In pursuance 
of this intimation, on the afternoon of the 5 th, a de- 
tachment consisting of three thousand men fell down 
to Castle Island, now Fort Independence, a position 
which would facilitate the attack on the next morning, 
but a violent storm, during the night, deranged the 
plan, and before the British were again in readiness 
to make the attempt, the American works became too 
formidable to be assaulted. 

General Washington, on this occasion, indulged 
a confident expectation of the success of his plans ; 
and wished the meditated attack upon Dorchester to 
be made, in the sanguine hope, that the complete con- 
quest of the British troops in Boston would be its 
ultimate effect ; but the storm frustrated his pros- 
pects. 

The safety of the British fleet and army rendered 
the evacuation of Boston a necessary measure ; and 
the arrangements of the enemy for this purpose were 
soon communicated to General Washington. A pa- 
per, under the signature of four of the Selectmen, w T as 
sent out by a flag, containing a proposal, purporting 
to be made by General Howe, that on condition his 



7° 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[177& 



army was permitted to embark without molestation, 
the town should be left without injury The letter 
was directed to the Commander-in-Chief, but it did 
not bear the signature of General Howe, nor bind him 
to the observance of the condition. General Wash- 
ington did not, therefore, officially notice it ; but he 
directed the American officer, to whom it was deliv- 
ered, to return an answer to the Selectmen, informing 
them that their letter had been communicated to his 
General, and assigning the reasons, why it had not 
been officially noticed ; but both the commanders 
appear to have tacitly complied with the conditions. 
The British army was not annoyed in the preparations 
to leave their post, nor was Nook's point fortified. 
On the 17th the town was evacuated, and left in a 
better state than was expected ; the houses were not 
damaged in any great degree ; but the British left few 
public stores of value. 

Although Halifax was mentioned, as the destined 
place of the British armament, yet General Washing- 
ton apprehended that New York was their object. 
On this supposition, he detached several brigades 
of his army to that city, before the evacuation of 
Boston. 

General Howe remained a number of days in Nan- 
tasket Road, and the Commander-in-Chief, when he 
entered Boston, as a measure of security, fortified Fort 
Hill. 

The issue of the campaign was highly gratifying to 
all classes ; and the gratulation of his fellow-citizens 
upon the repossession of the metropolis of Massachu- 
setts, was more pleasing to the Commander-in-Chief 
than would have been the honors of a triumph. Con- 
gress, to express the public approbation of the mili- 



1776. J LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 71 

tary achievements of their General, resolved, " That 
the thanks of Congress, in their own name, and in the 
name of the thirteen United Colonies, be presented to 
his Excellency General Washington, and the officers 
and soldiers under his command, for their wise and 
spirited conduct in the siege and acquisition of Boston 
and that a medal of gold be struck, in commemora- 
tion of this great event, and presented to his Excel- 
lency ,; 

In his letter, informing Congress that he had exe- 
cuted their order, and communicated to the army the 
vote of thanks, he observes. " They were indeed, at 
first, a band of undisciplined husbandmen, but it is 
under God, to their bravery and attention to their duty 
that I am indebted for that success which has pro- 
cured me the only reward I wish to receive, the affec- 
tion and esteem of my countrymen." 



72 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1776. 



CHAPTER III. 

General Washington marches the army to New York — Forti- 
fications of the City and Reiver — Independence declared- 
General Howe lands on Staten Island — Interview between 
General Washington and Colonel Patterson — State of the 
British and American Forces — Camp at Brooklyn — Battle on 
Long Island — Retreat from it — The City and Island of New- 
York evacuated — Manoeuvres at White Plains — Fort Wash- 
ington taken — General Howe invades New-Jersey — Depres- 
sion of the Americans — General Washington invested with 
new Powers — Success at Trenton, and at Princeton — New 
Jersey recovered. 

1776. As soon as the necessary arrangements 
were made in Boston, in the persuasion that the 
Hudson would be the scene of the next campaign, 
General Washington marched the main body r of his 
army to New York, where he arrived himself the 14th 
of April. 

The situation of New- York was highly favorable 
for an invading army, supported by a superior naval 
force. The Sound, the North and East rivers, opened 
a direct access to any point on Long Island, York 
Island, or on the continent bordering upon those 
waters. To the effectual defence of the city, the pas- 
sage up the rivers must be obstructed by forts and 
other impediments ; and an army was necessary, of 
force sufficient to man the posts and lines of defence, 
and to meet the invading foe m the field. Aware of 
these facts, General Washington doubted the prac- 



1776] LIFE OF WASHINGTON 73 

ticability of a successful defence of New York. But 
the importance of the place, and the difficulty which 
he had already experienced in dislodging an army 
from a fortified town, open to the protection and sup- 
plies of a fleet, inclined him to make the attempt. 
His own disposition to the measure was strengthened 
by the wishes of Congress, the opinion of his general 
officers, and by the expectation of his country. The 
resolution being formed, he called into action all the 
resources in his power to effect it. His first care was 
to put an end to the intercourse, which to this time 
had been continued, between the town and the British 
ships in the harbor, by which they were supplied 
with every necessary ; and Tryon, the British Gov- 
ernor, enjoyed the most favorable opportunity to con- 
cert his plans with the numerous disaffected inhabit 
tants of the city and its vicinity ; and by the aid of 
the Committee of Safety, this dangerous communi- 
cation was effectually stopped. The General, w r ith 
unremitted diligence, pushed on his works of defence. 
Hulks were sunk in the North and East rivers ; forts 
were erected on the mots commanding situations on 
their banks ; and works were raised to defend the 
narrow passage between Long and York Islands. 

The passes in the Highlands, bordering on the 
Hudson, became an object of early and solicitous at- 
tention. The command of this river was equally im- 
portant to the American and the British general. By 
its possession, the Americans easily conveyed supplies 
of provision and ammunition to the northern armv. 
and secured an intercourse between the southern and 
northern colonies, an intercourse essential to the suc- 
cess of the war. In the hands of the British, this 
necessary communication was interrupted, and an 



74 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1776. 

intercourse between the Atlantic and Canada was 
opened to them. General Washington ordered these 
passes to be fortified, and made their security an ob- 
ject of primary importance, through every period of 
his command. 

In these defensive preparations, the American 
army incessantly labored until Lord and General 
Hotoe arrived at Sandy Hook with the British fleet and 
army. In the near prospect of active warfare, the 
mind of the Commander-in-Chief was agitated by 
innumerable embarrassments. He found himself 
destitute of the means to give his country the pro- 
tection it expected from him ; the Colonies had not 
filled up their respective regiments ; his forces had 
been weakened by large detachments sent to reinforce 
the army in Canada; he was greatly deficient in arms, 
tents, clothing, and all military stores ; and notwith- 
standing his urgent entreaties on this subject, such 
was the destitute state of America, that Congress 
with all their exertions were unable to supply him. 
Two thousand men in camp, were at this time without 
arms ; and no confidence could be placed in many of 
the muskets which were in the hands of the soldiery. 
In this weak and deficient condition, General Wash- 
ington was to oppose a powerful and well appointed 
army, and to guard against the intrigues of those in 
New York and its neighborhood, who were disaffected 
to the American cause : these were numerous, power- 
ful, and enterprising. A plan was laid by Governor 
Tryon, through the agency of the mayor of the city 
to aid the enemy in landing, and to seize the person 
of General Washington. The defection reached the 
American army, and even some of the General's guard 
engaged in the conspiracy ; but it was seasonably 



1776.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON, 75 

discovered, and a number of those concerned in it 
were executed. 

The permanent troops being found incompetent to 
defend the country, it became necessary to call detach- 
ments of militia into the field ; and Congress, placing 
implicit confidence in the judgment and patriotism of 
their General, invested him with discretionary powers, 
to call on the governments of the neighboring colo- 
nies for such numbers as circumstances should re- 
quire ; and they empowered him to form those maga- 
zines and military stores which he might deem to be 
necessary. In pursuance of the measure recommended 
by Congress, a requisition was made for thirteen 
thousand and eight hundred of the militia from Mas- 
sachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. 

While these defensive preparations were going for- 
ward in the camp, Congress was ripening measures to 
declare the Colonies independent of Great Britain. 
The free exercise of their constitutional rights was 
the extent of the American claim at the commence- 
ment of the controversy, and a reconciliation with the 
parent state, by a redress of grievances, was the ar- 
dent desire of the great body of the American people ; 
but the operations of war produced other feelings and 
views. A general alienation of affection from the Brit 
ish Government took place, and it was thought that 
the mutual confidence of the two countries could 
never be restored. In the common apprehension, it 
became an absurdity that one country should maintain 
authority over another, distant from it three thousand 
miles. The restrictions of Great Britain upon the 
colonial trade, in the course of investigation, appeared 
as a heavy burden, and the commerce of the world was 
viewed as a high reward of independence ; common 



? 6 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1776. 

sense dictated, that the ability successfully to contend 
for the liberty formerly enjoyed as British Colonies, 
strenuously exerted, would secure to the country the 
more honorable and permanent blessings of an inde- 
pendent and sovereign nation. The declaration of 
independence was supposed to be the most effectual 
means to secure the aid of foreign powers ; because 
the great kingdoms of Europe would be disposed to 
assist the efforts of the Colonies to establish an inde- 
pendent government, although they would not inter- 
fere with their struggles to regain the liberties of Brit- 
ish subjects. By reasonings of this nature, the minds 
of the American people were ripened to renounce 
their allegiance to Britain, and to assume a place 
among independent nations ; and the representatives 
of most of the Colonies were instructed to support in 
Congress measures for this important purpose. 

Early in June, the following resolution was moved 
in Congress by Richard Henry Lee, and seconded by 
John Adams: " Resolved that these United Colonies 
are, and of right ought to be, free and independent 
States ; and that all political connection between them 
and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, 
totally dissolved." This resolution w r as solemnly 
debated for several days, and finally passed Congress, 
in the affirmative, by the unanimous suffrage 

July 4. Q £ mem bers. 

The duties of the field precluded General Washing- 
ton from a primary agency in this important, national 
measure ; but it met his full approbation. On the 
reception of the instrument, he wrote as follows to the 
President of Congress :— 

" I perceive that Congress have been employed in 
deliberating on measures of the most important nature. 



1776.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. jy 

It is certain that it is not with us to determine, in 
many instances, what consequences will flow from our 
counsels ; but yet it behoves us to adopt such, as, 
under the smiles of a gracious and all-kind Providence 
will be most likely to promote our happiness. I trust 
the late decisive part they have taken is calculated 
for that end, and will secure us that freedom, and those 
privileges, which have been, and are, refused us, 
contrary to the voice of nature, and the British Con- 
stitution. Agreeable to the request of Congress, I 
caused The Declaration to be proclaimed before all 
the army under my immediate command ; and have 
the pleasure to inform them, that the measure seemed 
to have their most hearty consent ; the expressions 
and behavior of those officers and men, testifying 
their warmest approbation of it." 

General Howe had sailed from Halifax in June, 
and early in July landed his army, without serious 
opposition, on Staten Island ; and on the twelfth of 
that month, he was joined by Lord Howe, with the 
reinforcements for the army. Lord Howe had been 
appointed to command the naval force on the Amer- 
ican station ; and he and the General were invested 
with the powers of Commissioners to treat with indi- 
viduals and with corporate bodies in the Colonies, 
upon terms of reconciliation with Britain. Although 
independence was already declared, yet they were 
anxious to commence negotiation ; and though unwil- 
ling to recognize the official capacity of Congress, or 
of General Washington, yet they desired to open 
with them a correspondence. His Lordship sent a 
letter by a flag, directed to " George Washington, 
Esq." This the General refused to receive, as 'it did 
not acknowledge the public character with which he 



7 8 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1776. 

was invested by Congress, and in no other character 
could he have an intercourse with his Lordship." 
Congress, by a formal resolution, approved the digni- 
fied conduct of their General, and directed, " That no 
letter or message be received on any occasion what- 
ever from the enemy by the Commander-in-Chief, or 
others, the commanders of the American army, but 
such as shall be directed to them in the character they 
respectively sustain." 

An intercourse between the British commander 
and General Washington was greatly desired for 
political reasons, as well as for purposes growing out 
of the war. Not yet disposed to adopt his military 
address, they sent Colonel Patterson, Adjutant-Gen- 
eral of the British Army, to the American head-quar- 
ters, with a letter addressed to " George Washington, 
&c, &c, &c." When the Colonel was introduced to 
the General, he addressed him by the title of Excel- 
lency, and said, " that General Howe greatly regretted 
the difficulty that had arisen respecting the address 
of the letter ; that the manner of direction had been 
common with ambassadors and plenipotentiaries, in 
cases of dispute about rank and precedency ; that 
General Washington had himself, the last year, 
directed a letter in the following manner, u The Hon. 
William Howe ; " that Lord and General Howe held 
his person and character in the highest respect, and 
did not mean to derogate from his rank ; and, that 
the et ceteras implied everything which ought to fol- 
low." He then laid the letter which had been before 
sent on the table. 

The General, declining its reception, observed, "that 
a letter, directed to a public character, should have an 
address descriptive of that character, or it might be 



1776.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. y 9 

considered as a private letter. It was true that if the 
et ceteras implied everything, they also implied any- 
thing. The letter alluded to, was in answer to one 
received from General Howe, under the like address, 
which being received by the officer on duty, he did 
not think proper to return ; and therefore answered 
in the same mode of address ; and that he should ab- 
solutely decline any letter relating to his public sta- 
tion, directed to him as a private person." 

Colonel Patterson then said, that General Howe 
would not urge his delicacy farther, and repeated his 
assertion, that no failure of respect was intended. 
Some general conversation then passed respecting 
the treatment of prisoners, when the Colonel pro- 
ceeded to observe that the goodness of the King had 
induced him to appoint Lord and General Howe his 
commissioners, to accommodate the dispute that had 
unhappily arisen ; that their powers were very exten- 
sive, and they would be highly gratified in effecting 
the accommodation ; and he wished his visit might be 
considered as the introduction to negotiation. 

General Washington replied that Congress hae? 
not invested him with powers to negotiate ; but he 
would observe, that from what had transpired, it ap- 
peared that Lord and General Howe were only em- 
powered to grant pardons : that they who had com- 
mitted no faults, wanted no pardon ; and that the 
Americans were only defending what they thought 
their indubitable rights. Colonel Patterson rejoined, 
that this would open a wide field of argument, and 
after expressing his fears, that an adherence to forms 
might obstruct business of the greatest moment, took 
his leave. The highest courtesy was observed in this 
conference ; the address of Colonel Patterson was 



8o 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



L1776. 



manly and polished ; the American General fully 
supported the dignity of his character and station ; 
and the scene was highly interesting to spectators. 

The Commander-in-Chief expected no salutary 
consequences to result from the agency of the British 
commissioners. He apprehended, that their attempts 
at negotiation were calculated only to divide and 
weaken the continent ; and he feared, that their 
measures would operate to relax the exertions of the 
United States to meet the conflicts of the field. In 
a private letter to a confidential friend, as early as 
May, he lamented the effects of this nature, which 
had actually been produced. " Many members of 
Congress/' he wrote," in short the representatives of 
whole provinces, are still feeding themselves on 
the dainty food of reconciliation ; and although they 
will not allow that the expectation of it has any influ- 
ence on their judgments, so far as respects prepara- 
tions for defence, it is but too obvious that it has an 
operation upon every part of their conduct, and is a 
clog upon all their proceedings. It is not in the 
nature of things to be otherwise ; for no rnan who 
entertains a hope of seeing this dispute speedily and 
equitably adjusted by commissioners, will gp to the 
same expense, and incur the same hazards, to prepare 
for the worst event, that he will who believes that he 
must conquer or submit unconditionally, and take the 
consequences, such as confiscation and hanging/' 

General Howe commanded a force of twen- 
Aug. 8. ty-four thousand men, well disciplined, and 
abundantly supplied with everything neces- 
sary to take the field ; he daily expected to be rein- 
forced by a second detachment of German troops; 
and he was supported by a fleet judiciously fitted to 



1776.] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



81 



its destined service. To oppose this formidable enemy 
General Washington had under his direction seven- 
teen thousand two hundred and twenty-five men ; of 
these three thousand six hundred and sixty-eight were 
in the hospital. His effective force was disposed in 
New York, on Long and Governors Islands, and at 
Paulus Hook ; and he informed Congress, that in case 
of an attack, he could promise himself only the addi- 
tion of one small battalion. Some of the posts occu- 
pied by the army were fifteen miles distant from 
others, and navigable waters intervened. " These 
things," observed the General, " are melancholy, but 
they are nevertheless true. I hope for better. Under 
every disadvantage, my utmost exertions shall be em- 
ployed to bring about the great end we have in view ; 
and so far as I can judge from the professions and 
apparent disposition of my troops, I shall have their 
support. The superiority of the enemy, and the ex- 
pected attack do not seem to have depressed their 
spirits. These considerations lead me to think, that 
though the appeal may not terminate so happily as I 
could wish, yet the enemy will not succeed in their 
views without considerable loss. Any advantage they 
may gain, will, I trust, cost them dear. 

Before serious hostilities commenced, the American 
army was reinforced by several regiments of perma- 
nent troops, and by detachments of militia, which 
made the whole number amount to twenty-seven 
thousand ; but the men were not accustomed to the 
life of the camp ; they were much exposed from the 
want of tents, and one quarter of the whole army were 
taken from duty by sickness. 

While waiting the tardy movements of the enemy, 
General Washington, apprised of the impressions 



82 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1776. 

that would be made by the event of the first encoun- 
ter, exerted himself to the utmost to bring his inex- 
perienced troops under subordination, and to excite 
in them military ardor, without which he could have 
no hope of successful warfare. In general orders, he 
called upon officers to be cool in action, and upon the 
soldiery to be obedient to orders, and to be firm and 
courageous. He directed, that any soldier, who de- 
serted his ranks in time of battle, should be imme- 
diately shot down. He desired commanders of corps 
to report to him every instance of distinguished brav- 
ery in the soldiery, with promise of reward. He en- 
deavored, by the love of liberty, of country, and of 
posterity, to animate his army to do their duty. u The 
time," he observed, u is now at hand, which must prob- 
ably determine whether Americans are to be free 
men or slaves ; whether they are to have any property 
they can call their own ; whether their houses and 
farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and them- 
selves consigned to a state of wretchedness, from 
which no human efforts will deliver them. The fate 
of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on 
the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel 
and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of a 
brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We 
have to resolve to conquer, or to die. Our own, our 
country's honor call upon us for a vigorous and manly 
exertion ; and if we now shamefully fail, we shall be- 
come infamous to the whole world. Let us then rely 
on the goodness of our cause, and on the aid of the 
Supreme Being, in whose hand victory is, to animate 
and encourage us to great and noble actions. The 
eyes of all our countrymen are now upon us, and we 
shall have their blessing and praises, if happily we 



1776.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. g 3 

are the instruments of saving them from the tyranny 
meditated against them. Let us therefore animate and 
encourage each other, and show the whole world, that 
a freeman, contending for liberty on his own ground, 
is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth." 

In the communication to his army of the 
success of the Americans at Fort Moultrie, July 21 
near Charleston, he thus labored to excite 
them to emulate the bravery of their countrymen in 
South Carolina. 

" This glorious example of our troops, under the 
like circumstances with ourselves, the General hopes, 
will animate every officer and soldier to imitate, and 
even to outdo them, when the enemy shall make the 
same attempt on us. With such a bright example be- 
fore us, of what can be done by brave men, fighting in 
defence of their country, we shall be loaded with a 
double share of shame and infamy, if we do not acquit 
ourselves with courage, and manifest a determined 
resolution to conquer or die. With the hope and con- 
fidence that this army will have an equal share of 
honor and success, the General most earnestly exhorts 
every officer and soldier to pay the utmost attention 
to his arms and health ; to have the former in the 
best order for action, and by cleanliness and care to 
preserve the latter ; to be exact in their discipline 
obedient to their superiors, and vigilant on duty. 
With such preparations and a suitable spirit, there can 
be no doubt but, by the blessing of heaven, we shall 
repel our cruel invaders, preserve our country, and 
gain the greatest honor." 

In the immediate view of the arduous conflict, the 
General once more endeavored to inspire his army 
with the'heroism necessary successfully to sustain it. 



84 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1776. 

" The enemy's whole reinforcement is now arrived," 
said he, " so that an attack must, and soon will be 
made. The General therefore again repeats his ear- 
nest request, that every officer and soldier will have 
his arms and ammunition in good order ; keep within 
his quarters and encampment, as much as possible ; 
be ready for action at a moment's call ; and when 
called to it, remember, that liberty, property, life, and 
honor are all at stake; that upon their courage and 
conduct, rest the hopes of their bleeding and insulted 
country ; that their wives, children, and parents, ex- 
pect safety from them alone, and that we have every 
reason to believe that heaven will crown with success 
so just a cause. 

" The enemy will endeavor to intimidate by show 
and appearance ; but remember, they have been re- 
pulsed on various occasions, by a few brave Ameri- 
cans. Their cause is bad ; their men are conscious of 
it ; and if opposed with firmness and coolness on their 
first onset, with our advantage of works, and knowl 
edge of the ground, the victory most assuredly is ours. 
Every good soldier will be silent and attentive, wait 
for orders, and reserve his fire until he is sure of 
doing execution ; of this the officers are to be par- 
ticularly careful." 

The possession of Long Island is essential to the 
defence of New York. It had been determined in a 
council of war, to fortify a camp at Brooklyn, front- 
ing New York ; and stretching across that end of Long 
Island, from East river to Gowan's cove. The rear of 
this encampment was defended by batteries on Red 
Hook and Governor's Island, and by works of East 
River, which secured the communication with the 
city. In front of the encampment, ran a range of 



*776-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 85 

hills from east to west across the Island. These 
were covered with wood, and were steep, but could 
any where be ascended by infantry. Over this range 
were three passes, leading by three roads to Brook- 
lyn ferry. 

A strong detachment of the American army was 
posted on Long Island, under the command of Gen- 
eral Greene, who made himself intimately acquainted 
with the passes on the hills ; but unfortunately becom- 
ing sick, General Sullivan succeeded him in this com- 
mand only a few days before active operations com- 
menced. The main body of the American army re- 
mained on York Island. A flying camp, composed of 
militia, was formed at Amboy, to prevent the depre- 
dations of the enemy in New Jersey ; and a force was 
stationed near New Rochelle, and at East and West 
Chester on the Sound, to check the progress of the 
enemy, should they attempt to land above Kings 
bridge, and enclose the Americans on York Island. 
The head-quarters of General Washington were in 
the city, but he was daily over at Brooklyn to inspect 
the state of that camp, and to make the best arrange- 
ments circumstances would admit. 

An immediate attack being expected on Long Isl- 
and, General Sullivan was reinforced, and directed 
carefully to watch the passes. 

On the 20th the main body of the British troops 
with a large detachment of Germans, landed under 
cover of the ships, on the south-western extremity of 
Long Island. A regiment of militia stationed on the 
coast, retreated before them to the heights. A large 
reinforcement was sent to the camp at Brooklyn, and 
the command of the post given to General Putnam, 
who was particularly charged to guard the woods, and 



86 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[17/6. 



to hold himself constantly prepared to meet the assault 
of the enemy. 

On the same day, the British, in three divisions, took 
post upon the south skirt of the wood ; General Grant 
upon their left, near the coast ; the German General 
de Heister in the centre at Flatbush ; and General 
Clinton upon their right at Flatland. The range of 
hills only now separated the two armies, and the dif- 
ferent posts of the British were distant from the Ame- 
rican camp, from four to six miles. Upon the left, a 
road to Brooklyn lay along the coast by Gowans cove, 
before General Grant's division. From Flatbush a 
direct road ran to the American camp, in which the 
Germans might proceed. General Clinton might 
either unite with the Germans, or take a more eastern 
route, and fall into the Jamaica road by the way of 
Bedford. These three roads unite near Brooklyn. 
On the pass at Flatbush the Americans had thrown 
up a small redoubt, mounted it with artillery, and 
manned it with a body of troops. Major- General 
Sullivan continued to command on the heights. 

In the evening, General Clinton, without 
Aug. 26. beat of drum, marched with the infantry of 
his division, a party of light horse, and four 
teen field pieces, to gain the defile on the Jamaica 
road. A few hours before day, he surprised an Amer- 
ican party stationed here to give the alarm of an ap- 
proaching enemy, and undiscovered by Sullivan seized 
the pass. At daylight he passed the heights, and 
descended into the plain on the side of Brooklyn. 
Early in the morning, General de Heister, at Flatbush, 
and General Grant upon the west coast, opened a can- 
nonade upon the American troops, and began to ascend 
the hill; but they moved very slowly, as their object 



1776 ] LIFE OF WASHINGTON &j 

was to draw the attention of the American commander 
from his left, and give General Clinton opportunity to 
gain the rear of the American troops stationed on the 
heights. General Putnam, in the apprehension that 
the serious attack would be made by de Heister and 
Grant, sent detachments to reinforce General Sullivan 
and Lord Sterling at the defiles, through which those 
divisions of the enemy were approaching. When 
General Clinton had passed the left flank of the Amer- 
icans, about eight o'clock in the morning of the 27th, 
de Heister and Grant vigorously ascended the hill ; 
the troops which opposed them bravely maintained 
their ground, until they learned their perilous situation 
from the British columns, which were gaining their 
rear. 

As soon as the American left discovered the progress 
of General Clinton, they attempted to return to the 
camp at Brooklyn ; but their flight was stopped by 
the front of the British column. In the mean time, 
the Germans pushed forward from Flatbush, and the 
troops in the American centre, under the immediate 
command of General Sullivan, having also discovered 
that their flank was turned, and that the enemy was 
gaining their rear, in haste retreated towards Brooklyn. 
Clinton s columns continuing to advance, intercepted 
them, they were attacked in front and rear, and alter- 
nately driven by the British on the Germans, and by 
the Germans on the British. Desperate as their situa- 
tion was, some regiments broke through the enemy's 
columns and regained the fortified camp ; but most of 
the detachments upon the American left and centre 
were either killed or taken prisoners. 

The detachment on the American right, under Lord 
Sterling, behaved well, and maintained a severe con- 



88 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1776. 



flict with General Grant for six hours, until the van 
of General Clinton's division, having crossed the whole 
island, gained their rear. Lord Sterling perceived his 
danger, and found that his troops could be saved only 
by an immediate retreat over a creek near the cove. 
He gave orders to this purpose ; and, to facilitate their 
execution, he in person attacked Lord Cornwallis, who, 
by this time having gained the coast, had posted a 
small corps in a house, just above the place where the 
American troops must pass the creek. The attack 
was bravely made with four hundred men, who, in the 
opinion of their commander, were upon the point of 
dislodging Cornwallis ; but his Lordship being rein- 
forced from his own column, and General Grant at- 
tacking Lord Sterling in the rear, this brave band was 
overpowered by numbers, and those who survived were 
compelled to surrender themselves prisoners of war ; 
but this spirited assault gave opportunity for a large 
proportion of the detachment to escape. 

The loss of the Americans on this occasion, for the 
number engaged, was great ; General Washington 
stated it at a thousand men ; but his returns probably 
included only the regular regiments. General Howe, 
in an official letter, made the prisoners amount to one 
thousand and ninety-seven. Among these were Major- 
General Sullivan, and Brigadier-Generals Sterling and 
Woodhull. The amount of the killed was never with 
precision ascertained. Numbers were supposed to 
have been drowned in the creek, and some to have 
perished in the mud on the marsh. The British loss 
acknowledged by General Howe, was twenty-one offi- 
cers, and three hundred and forty-six privates killed, 
wounded, and taken. 

General Washington passed over to Brooklyn in 



1776.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 

the heat of the action ; but unable to rescue his men 
from their perilous situation, was constrained to be the 
inactive spectator of the slaughter of his best troops. 

At the close of the day, the British approached in 
front of the American works, and it has been said 
that the troops, in their ardor, exhibited a strong in- 
clination to storm the lines ; but General Howe, re- 
membering Bunker Hill, prudently restrained them 
from the assault. 

Determining to carry the American works by regu- 
lar approaches, the British commander broke ground 
on the night of the 28th, within six hundred yards of 
a redoubt. 

General Washington was fully sensible of the dan- 
ger that awaited him. The success of the enemy by 
regular approaches was certain. His troops were with- 
out tents, and had already suffered extremely by heavy 
rains. The movements of the British fleet indicated 
an intention to force a passage into the East river, and 
cut off the retreat of the troops to the city. Should 
they accomplish this, the situation of the army on 
Long Island would be desperate. An immediate re- 
treat to the city was therefore thought expedient. 
The measure was happily accomplished, on the night 
of the 29th, with all the stores, and military apparatus, 
except a few pieces of heavy artillery, which the soft- 
ness of the ground rendered it impossible to move. 

This important retreat was made with so much si- 
lence and address, that the enemy did not perceive it, 
although so near that the noise of their entrenching 
tools were distinctly heard by the Americans. A 
heavy fog hung over Long Island until late in the 
morning of the 30th, which hid the movements of the 
American army from General Howe. When it cleared, 



9 o LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1776. 

the rear guard was seen crossing the East river, out 
of reach of the British fire. The General in person 
inspected the details of this critical retreat ; and for 
the forty-eight hours which preceded its completion, 
in his own language he was " hardly off his horse, and 
never closed his eyes." He did not leave the island 
before the covering party marched from the lines. 

The attempt to defend Long Island has by many 
been considered as an error in the military operations 
of the American General. But before his judgment, 
in this instance, is condemned, the reasons which led 
to it ought to be weighed. Its possession was highly 
important to either army; its situation rendered its 
defence, in a good degree, probable ; the range of hills 
was favorable to the obstruction of an invading enemy ; 
and a fortified camp in the rear opening a communi- 
cation with the city, and supported by batteries on 
Governor s Island and the East river, rendered a re- 
treat practicable, when circumstances should make it 
necessary. There was then a fair prospect of defend- 
ing the island ; at least of detaining the enemy so 
long in the effort to gain possession of it, as to waste 
the campaign in the contention. The disastrous con- 
sequences of this measure, are not to be attributed to 
any defect in the original plan, but to the neglect of 
the commanding officer on the island in guarding the 
pass on the road from Jamaica to Bedford. Unfor- 
tunately this officer was changed at the time, when 
hostilities were about to commence ; and the General, 
who directed the disposition of the troops on the day 
of the action, was imperfectly acquainted with the 
passes in the mountains. General Washington, by 
written instructions, directed this officer " Particularly 
to guard the defiles in the woods, and to render the 



1776.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. gi 

approach of the enemy through them as difficult as 
possible." This order was not fully executed. It ap- 
pears that General Sullivan was not apprised of the 
march of the British detachment from Flatbush to 
Flatland, on the evening of the 26th, and a guard on 
the Jamaica road did not seasonably discover the ap- 
proach of the enemy to give information. General 
Ho we,. in his official letter, mentioned that an Ameri- 
can patrolling party was taken on this road ; and Gen- 
eral Washington in a letter to a friend wrote : " This 
misfortune happened in a great measure by two de- 
tachments of our people, who were posted in two roads 
leading through a wood to intercept the enemy in their 
march, suffering a surprise, and making a precipitate 
retreat" 

It should also be recollected, that the plans of the 
Commander-in-Chief, were laid in the expectation of 
a much larger force, than in the event he realized. 
The regiments were not complete ; and he was abso- 
lutely destitute of cavalry. There was not a single 
company of horse on Long Island to watch the mo- 
tions of the enemy, and give information of their 
movements. This furnishes some apology for the ig- 
norance of the commanding officer on Long Island, 
respecting the manoeuvre of the enemy. 

The defeat of the 27th made a most unfavorable 
impression upon the army. A great proportion of 
the troops lost their confidence in their officers, and 
in themselves. Before this unfortunate event, they 
met the enemy in the spirit of freemen, fighting for 
their highest interests, and under the persuasion that 
their thorough use of arms rendered them equal to the 
disciplined battalions which they were to oppose. 
But, on this occasion, by evolutions, which they did not 



9 2 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1776 

comprehend, they found themselves encompassed-with 
difficulties, from which their utmost exertions could 
not extricate, and involved in dangers, from which 
their bravery could not deliver them ; and entertaining 
a high opinion of the adroitness of the enemy, in 
every movement, they apprehended a fatal snare. 

These melancholy facts were thus narrated by Gen- 
eral Washington in his letter to Congress. " Our 
situation is truly distressing. The check our detach- 
ment sustained on the 27th ultimo, has dispirited too 
great a proportion of our troops, and filled their minds 
with apprehension and despair. The militia, instead 
of calling forth their utmost efforts to a brave and 
manly opposition, in order to repair our losses, are dis- 
mayed, intractable, and impatient to return. Great, 
numbers of them have gone off — in some instances 
almost by whole regiments, by half ones, and by com- 
panies at a time. This circumstance, of itself, inde- 
pendent of others, when fronted by a well appointed 
enemy, superior in number to our whole collected 
force, would be sufficiently disagreeable ; but when 
their example has infected another part of the army ; 
when their want of discipline, and refusal of almost 
every kind of restraint and government, have produced 
a like conduct, but too common to the w r hole, and an 
entire disregard of that order and subordination neces- 
sary to the w r ell doing of an army, and which had been 
inculcated before, as well as the nature of our military 
establishment would admit of, our condition is still 
more alarming ; and with the deepest concern I am 
obliged to confess my want of confidence in the gener- 
ality of the troops." 

The British General being in possession of Long 
Island, prepared to attack New York. The body of 



1776.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 93 

the fleet lay at anchor near Governor's Island ; but 
particular ships passed up the East river, without sus- 
taining injury from the American batteries ; others, 
sailing round Long Island into the Sound, passed up 
to the higher part of York Island. By these move- 
ments, the situation of the American army became 
critical. It was uncertain whether the attack would 
be made upon the lines, or whether General Howe 
would land his troops above King's bridge, and en- 
close the Americans. To guard against the danger 
which threatened him, the Commander-in-Chief or- 
dered the stores that were not of present necessity 
to be removed above King's bridge, and assembled a 
council to determine upon the expediency 
of retreating from the city. The majority of sept. 7. 
his general officers voted against the imme- 
diate evacuation of New York. The plan recom- 
mended was to station the army in the best manner, 
defend the points menaced with attack, that the enemy 
might waste the residue of the season in the struggle 
to possess York Island. The belief that Congress de- 
sired that New York should be maintained to extrem- 
ity, probably had influence on this council. In com- 
municating the adopted plan to that body, General 
Washington clearly indicated an opinion, that an 
immediate evacuation of New York was expedient. 
Speaking of the enemy, he observed : — 

" It is now extremely obvious, from all intelligence, 
from their movements and every other circumstance, 
that having landed their whole army on Long Island 
(except about four thousand on Staten Island), they 
mean to enclose us on the Island of New York, by 
taking post in our rear, while the shipping effect- 
ually secure the front ; and thus, either by cutting off 



94 LIFE ©F WASHINGTON. [1776. 

our communication with the country, oblige us to fight 
them on their own terms, or surrender at discretion, 
or, by a brilliant stroke, endeavor to cut this army in 
pieces and secure the collection of arms and stores, 
which they well know we shall not be able soon to 
replace. 

" Having, therefore, their system unfolded to us, it 
became an important consideration how it would be 
most successfully opposed. On every side there is a 
choice of difficulties ; and every measure on our part 
(however painful the reflection be from experience) to 
be formed with some apprehension that all our troops 
will not do their duty. In deliberating on this great 
question, it was impossible to forget, that history, our 
own experience, the advice of our ablest friends in 
Europe, the fears of the enemy, and even the declara- 
tions of Congress, demonstrate, that on our side, the 
war should be defensive — (it has ever been called a 
war of posts) — that we should on all occasions avoid a 
general action, nor put anything to the risk, unless 
compelled by a necessity into which we ought never 
to be drawn. 

" It was concluded to arrange the army under three 
divisions ; five thousand to remain for the defence of 
the city ; nine thousand to King's bridge and its de- 
pendences, as well to possess and secure those posts, 
as to be ready to attack the enemy, who are moving 
eastward on Long Island, if they should attempt to 
land on this side ; the remainder to occupy the inter- 
mediate space, and support either ; that the sick should 
be immediately removed to Orangetown, and barracks 
prepared at Kings bridge with all possible expedition 
to cover the troops. 

" There were some general officers, in whose judg- 



j 77 6.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 95 

ment and opinion much confidence is to be reposed, 
that were for a total and immediate removal from the 
city, urging the great danger of one part of the army 
being cut off before the other can support it, the ex- 
tremities being at least sixteen miles apart ; that our 
army, when collected, is inferior to the enemy ; that 
they can move with their whole force to any point of 
attack, and consequently must succeed by weight of 
numbers, if they have only a part to oppose them ; 
that, by removing from hence, we deprive the enemy 
of the advantage of their ships, which will make at 
least one-half of the force to attack the town ; that 
we should keep the enemy at bay, put nothing to the 
hazard, but, at all events, keep the army together, 
which may be recruited another year ; that the un- 
spent stores will also be preserved ; and, in this case, 
the heavy artillery can also be secured." 

In the full expectation that a retreat from York 
Island would soon become necessary, the General as- 
siduously continued the removal of the stores and 
heavy baggage to a place of safety. 

The general officers became alarmed at „ 

m Sept. 12. 

the danger of the army, and, in a second 
council, determined to remove it from New York. 

On the fourteenth, several British ships passed up 
the East river, and large bodies of troops were moved 
to Montezore's Island with the apparent intention to 
land either upon the continent above King's bridge, 
and wholly to enclose the Americans, or upon the 
plains of Hserlem on York Island, to break the line 
of communication between the different divisions of 
their army, and attack them in situations in which 
they would be unable to support each other. The 
next morning General Clinton landed, under cover of 



qS LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [7756. 

five men-of-war, with four thousand men, three miles 
above the city of New York. 

The American lines at this place were 
Sept. 14. capable of defence, but the men posted in 
them, on the firing of the ships, without wait- 
ing for the attack of the enemy, abandoned them. As 
soon as the cannonading began, two brigades were 
detached from the main body to support the troops in 
the breastworks, the fugitives communicated to them 
their panic, and General Washington, in riding to 
the scene of action, met his troops retreating in the 
utmost confusion, disregarding the efforts of their 
generals to stop them. While the Commander-in- 
Chief was, with some effect, exerting himself to rally 
them, a very small body of the enemy appeared in 
sight, on which the men again broke, and a most 
dastardly rout ensued. At this unfortunate moment, 
and only at this moment through his whole life, Gen- 
eral Washington appears to have lost his fortitude. 
All the shameful and disastrous consequences of the 
defection of his army, rushed upon his mind, and bore 
down his spirits. In a paroxysm of despair, he turned 
his horse towards the enemy, seemingly with the in- 
tention to avoid the disgrace of the day by the sacri- 
fice of his life : his aids seized the horse's bridle, and, 
with friendly violence, rescued him from the destruc- 
tion that awaited him. 

In consequence of the failure of the troops upon the 
lines, the evacuation of New York was necessarily 
made in haste. It was happily accomplished with 
the loss of very few men ; but most of the heavy ar- 
tillery, many of the tents, and a great part of the 
stores which had not been previously removed were 
unavoidably left behind. 



1776.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. gj 

The American army having been driven from New 
York, the British General stationed a detachment to 
guard the city ; and posted his main army in front of 
the American lines on the north end of York Island. 
Their right extended to the East, and their left to the 
North river ; and both their flanks were covered by 
ships-of-war. The island at Bloomingdale, the place 
of the British encampment, is two miles wide. 

The strongest post of the Americans was at King's 
bridge, which secured their communication with the 
country. M'Gowan's Pass and Morn's Heights were 
also rendered defensible ; and within a mile and a half 
of the enemy, a detachment was posted in a fortified 
camp, on the heights of Haerlem. The Commander- 
in-Chief was pleased with this disposition of his army ; 
he thought it must lead to those frequent skirmishes, 
which would insensibly wear off the depression occa- 
sioned by the late defeat, and restore to his men con- 
fidence in themselves. He indulged the hope that by 
these services, the discipline would be introduced into 
the army, absolutely necessary to successful war, when 
every individual does his appropriate duty, confiding 
for his security in the skill of his general, and in the 
united efforts of his fellow-soldiers, 

The very day after the retreat from the 
city, a party of the enemy appeared in the Sept. 16. 
plain between the two hostile camps. The 
General rode to the outpost to embrace the opportun- 
ity to attack them. Lieutenant-Colonel Knowlton, of 
Connecticut, a brave officer, who had been skirmish- 
ing with the party, stated their number at three hun- 
dred. The General detached Colonel Knowlton and 
Major Leitch, of Virginia, to gain their rear, while he 
occupied their attention by movements indicating a 



98 LIKE OF WASHINGTON. [1776. 

design to attack them in front. Colonel Knowlton 
and Major Leitch, after leading their corps into action 
in a most soldier-like manner, were both soon brought 
off the field mortally wounded ; yet the men, under 
their captains, bravely continued the attack, and drove 
an enemy, superior in numbers, from their position. 
The Americans had fifty men killed and wounded, and 
the British twice that number. 

This skirmish, trifling in itself, was improved to 
valuable purposes. The Commander-in-Chief in gen- 
eral orders, applauded the bravery of officers and men, 
contrasted it with the cowardly behavior of the troops 
the day before ; called upon the whole army to emu- 
late this honorable example ; and from the issue of 
this conflict, pointed out what brave men might effect, 
when fighting in the best of causes. The parole next 
day was Leitch. In filling the vacancy occasioned 
by the death of the Colonel, the General mentioned 
that the officer succeeded " the gallant and brave 
Colonel Knowlton, who would have been an honor to 
any country, and who had fallen gloriously fighting at 
his post." The success of this encounter had a gen- 
eral effect upon the spirits of the army. 

In addition to the arduous duties of this campaign, 
which were sufficient to employ the time, and test the 
talents of the greatest military character, the state of 
the army furnished a weighty subject of attention to 
General Washington. He dwelt upon the gloomy 
prospects of the succeeding winter. The clothing of 
the men was suited only to the warm season, and their 
time of enlistment expired with the year. The con- 
sequent distresses in all their magnitude rose to his 
mind, and in the following letter, he endeavored to 
impress Congress with a lively sense of the situation 



1776.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 99 

of the army ; and to call forth their highest endeavors 
to arrest the approaching evils : — 

" From the hours allotted to sleep, I will borrow a 
few moments to convey my thoughts on sundry im- 
portant matters, to Congress. I shall offer them with 
the sincerity which ought to characterize a man of 
candor ; and with the freedom which may be used in 
giving useful information, without incurring the im- 
putation of presumption. 

" We are now, as it were, upon the eve of another 
dissolution of our army. The remembrance of the 
difficulties which happened upon that occasion last 
year; the consequences which might have followed 
the change, if proper advantage had been taken by the 
enemy ; added to a knowledge of the present temper 
and situation of the troops, reflect but a very gloomy 
prospect upon the appearance of things now, and sat- 
isfy me, beyond the possibility of doubt, that unless 
some speedy and effectual measures are adopted by 
Congress, our cause will be lost. 

" It is in vain to expect that any, or more than a 
trifling part, of this army will engage again in the 
service, on the encouragement offered by Congress. 
When men find that their townsmen and companions 
are receiving twenty, thirty, and more dollars, for a 
few months' service (which is truly the case) this can- 
not be expected without using compulsion ; and to 
force them into the service would answer no valuable 
purpose. When men are irritated, and their passions 
inflamed, they fly hastily and cheerfully to arms ; but 
after the first emotions are over, to expect among such 
people as compose the bulk of an army, that they are 
influenced by any other principles than those of inter- 
est, is to look for what never did, and I fear never 



IOO 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1776. 



will, happen ; the Congress will deceive themselves, 
therefore, if they expect it. 

" A soldier, reasoned with upon the goodness of the 
cause he is engaged in, and the inestimable rights he 
is contending for, hears you with patience, and ac- 
knowledges the truth of your observations : but adds 
that it is of no more consequence to him than to 
others. The officer makes you the same reply, with 
this further remark, that his pay will not support him> 
and he cannot ruin himself and family to serve his 
country when every member in the community is 
equally benefited and interested by his labors. The 
few, therefore, who act upon principles of disinterest- 
edness, are, comparatively speaking, no more than a 
drop in the ocean. It becomes evidently clear then, 
that, as this contest is not likely to be the work of a 
day ; as the war must be carried on systematically, 
and to do it you must have good officers ; there is, 
in my judgment, no other possible means to obtain 
them, but by establishing your army upon a perma- 
nent footing, and giving your officers good pay ; this 
will induce gentlemen and men of character to en- 
gage, and until the bulk of your officers are composed 
of such persons as are actuated by principles of honor 
and a spirit of enterprise, you have little to expect 
from them. They ought to have such allowances as 
will enable them to live like, and support the charac- 
ters of, gentlemen ; and not to be driven by a scanty- 
pittance to the low and dirty arts which many of them 
practice, to filch the public of more than the differ- 
ence of pay would amount to, upon an ample allow- 
ance. Besides, something is due to the man who puts 
his life in your hands, hazards his health, and forsakes 
the sweets of domestic enjoyments. Why a captain 



1776.] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



IOI 



in the continental service should receive no mo- e than 
five shillings currency per day, for performing the 
same duties that an officer of the same rank in the 
British service receives ten shillings sterling for, I 
never could conceive ; especially when the latter is 
provided with everything necessary he requires upon 
the best terms, and the former can scarcely procure 
them at any rate. There is nothing that gives a man 
consequence, and renders him fit for command, like a 
support that renders him independent of everybody 
but the state he serves. 

"With respect to the men, nothing but a good 
bounty can obtain them upon a permanent establish- 
ment, and for no shorter time than the continuance of 
the war ought they to be engaged ; as facts incontest- 
able prove, that the difficulty and cost of enlistments 
increase with time. When the army was first raised 
at Cambridge, I am persuaded the men might have 
been got without a bounty for the war ; after that, 
they began to see that the contest was not likely to 
end so speedily as was imagined, and to feel their con- 
sequence by remarking, that to get their militia in, in 
the course of last year, many towns were induced to 
give them a bounty. Foreseeing the evils resulting 
from this, and the destructive consequences which 
would unavoidably follow short enlistments, I took 
the liberty, in a long letter, to recommend the enlist, 
ments for and during the war, assigning such reasons 
for it as experience has since convinced me were 
well founded. At that time, twenty dollars would, I 
am persuaded, have engaged the men for this term : 
but it will not do to look back, and if the present op- 
portunity be slipped, I am persuaded that twelve 
months more will increase our difficulties four fold. 



2 02 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



I shall therefore take the liberty of giving it as my 
opinion, that a good bounty be immediately offered, 
aided by the proffer of at least a hundred, or a 
hundred and fifty acres of land, and a suit of clothes 
and a blanket, to each non-commissioned officer and 
soldier, as I have good authority for saying, that how- 
ever high the men's pay may appear, it is barely suf- 
ficent, in the present scarcity and dearness of all 
kinds of goods, to keep them in clothes, much less to 
afford support to their families. If this encour- 
agement then be given to the men, and such pay 
allowed to the officers, as will induce gentlemen of 
liberal character and liberal sentiments to engage, and 
proper care and caution be used in the nomination 
(having more regard to the character of persons than 
the number of men they can enlist) we should in a 
little time have an army able to cope with any that 
can be opposed to it, as there are excellent materials 
to form one out of ; but while the only merit an of- 
ficer possesses is his ability to raise men ; while those 
men consider and treat him as an equal, and in the 
character of an officer, regard him no more than a 
broom stick, being mixed together as one common 
herd, no order nor discipline can prevail, nor will the 
officer ever meet with that respect which is essentially 
necessary to due subordination. 

" To place any dependence upon militia is assuredly 
resting upon a broken staff. Men just dragged from 
the tender scenes of domestic life; unaccustomed to 
the din of arms ; totally unacquainted with every kind 
of military skill ; which, being followed by want of 
confidence in themselves, when opposed to troops reg- 
ularly trained, disciplined, and appointed, superior in 
knowledge, and superior in arms, makes them timid 



i : -6.J LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 

and reaay to fly from their own shadows. Besides, 
the sudden change in their manner of living, particu- 
larly in their lodging, brings on sickness in many, im- > 
patience in all ; and such an unconquerable desire of 
returning to their respective homes, that it not only 
produces shameful and scandalous desertions among 
themselves, but infuses the like spirit in others. 
Again, men accustomed to unbounded freedom, and 
no control, cannot brook the restraint which is indis- 
pensably necessary to the good order and government 
of an army; without which, licentiousness and every 
kind of disorder triumphantly reign. To bring men 
to a proper degree of subordination, is not the work 
of a day, a month, or a year ; and unhappily for us, 
and the cause we are engaged in, the little discipline 
I have been laboring to establish in the army under 
my immediate command, is in a manner done away 
by having such a mixture of troops as have been 
called together within these few months. 

" Relaxed and unfit as our rules and regulations of 
war are for the government of an army, the militia 
(those properly so called, for of these we have two 
sorts, the six months* men, and those sent in as a tem- 
porary aid), do not think themselves subject to them, 
and therefore take liberties which the soldier is pun- 
ished for. This creates jealousy, jealousy begets dis- 
satisfaction, and these by degrees ripen into mutiny, 
keeping the whole army in a confused and disordered 
state ; rendering the time of those who wish to see 
regularity and good order prevail, more unhappy than 
words can describe ; besides this, such repeated 
changes take place, that all arrangement is set at 
nought ; and the constant fluctuation of things de- 
ranges every plan, as fast as it is adopted. 



I04 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1776. 

"These, sir, Congress may be assured are but a 
small part of the inconveniences which might be enu- 
merated and attributed to militia : but there is one 
which merits particular attention, and that is the ex- 
pense. Certain I am, that it would be cheaper to 
keep fifty, or a hundred thousand men in constant 
nay, than to depend upon half the number, and supply 
the other half occasionally by militia. The time the 
latter is in pay, before and after they are in camp, as- 
sembling and marching, the waste of ammunition ; the 
consumption of stores which, in spite of every reso- 
lution and requisition of Congress, they must be fur- 
nished with, or sent home, added to other incidental 
expenses consequent upon their coming, and conduct 
in camp, surpass all idea ; and destroy every kind of 
regularity and economy, which you could establish 
among fixed and settled troops ; and will, in my opin- 
nion, prove (if the same be adhered to) the ruin of 
our cause. 

"The jealousies of a standing army, and the evils 
to be apprehended from one, are remote ; and in my 
judgment, situated and circumstanced as we are, not 
ac all to be dreaded ; but the consequence of wanting 
one, according to my ideas, formed upon the present 
view of things, is certain and inevitable ruin ; for if 
I were called upon to declare upon oath, whether the 
militia have been more serviceable or hurtful on the 
whole, I should subscribe to the latter. I do not 
mean by this, however, to arraign the conduct of 
Congress : in so doing I should equally condemn my 
own measures, if not my judgment ; but experience, 
which is the best criterion to work by, so fully, clearly, 
and decisively, reprobates the practice of trusting to 
militia, that no man who regards order, regularity, 



I 77 6 ] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. icj 

and economy, or who has any regard for his own 
honor, character, or peace of mind, will risk them 
upon militia." 

" Before I knew of the late resolutions of Congress, 
which you did me the honor to enclose in your letter 
of the 24th, and before I was favored with the visit 
of your committee, I took the liberty of giving you my 
sentiments on several points which seemed to be of 
importance. 

" I have no doubt but that the committee will make 
such report of the state and condition of the army as 
will induce Congress to believe that nothing but the 
most vigorous exertions can put matters upon such a 
footing, as to give this continent a fair prospect of 
success. Give me leave to say, sir, I say it with due 
deference and respect (and my knowledge of the facts, 
added to the importance of the cause, and the stake I 
hold in it, must justify the freedom), that your affairs 
are in a more unpropitious way than you seem to 
apprehend. 

"Your army, as mentioned in my last, is upon the 
eve of its political dissolution. True it is, you have 
voted a larger one in lieu of it ; but the season is late, 
and there is a material difference between voting 
battalions and raising men. In the latter there are 
more difficulties than Congress seem aware of, which 
makes it my duty (as I have been informed of the 
prevailing sentiments of this army) to inform them, 
that unless the pay of the officers (especially that of 
the field officers), be raised, the chief part of those 
that are worth retaining will leave the service at the 
expiration of the present term; as the soldiers will also, 
if some greater encouragement be not offered them, 
than twenty dollars, and one hundred acres of land. 



to 6 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [177& 

" Nothing less, in my opinion, than a suit of clothes 
annually given to each non-commissioned officer and 
soldier, in addition to the pay and bounty, will avail ; 
and I question whether that will do, as the enemy from 
the information of one John Marsh, who, with six 
others, was taken by our guards, are giving ten pounds 
bounty for recruits, and have got a battalion under 
Major Rodgers, nearly completed upon Long Island. 

" Nor will less pay, according to my judgment, than 
I have taken the liberty of mentioning in the enclosed 
estimate, retain such officers as we could wish to have 
continued ; the difference per month in each battalion 
would amount to better than one hundred pounds ; to 
this may be added the pay of the staff officers ; for it 
is presumable they will also require an augmentation, 
but being few in number, the sum will not be greatly 
increased by them, and consequently is a matter of no 
great moment ; but it is a matter of no small impor- 
tance to make the several offices desirable. When the 
pay and establishment of an officer once become ob- 
jects of interested attention, the sloth, negligence, and 
even disobedience of orders, which at this time but 
two generally prevail, will be purged off. But while 
the service is viewed with indifference ; while the 
officer conceives that he is rather conferring than 
receiving an obligation ; there will be a total relaxation 
of all order and discipline, and everything will move 
heavily on, to the great detriment of the service, and 
inexpressible trouble and vexation to the General. 

" The critical situation of our affairs at this time 
will justify my saying, that no time is to be lost in 
making fruitless experiments. An unavailing trial of 
a month, to get an army, upon the terms proposed, may 
render it impracticable to do it at all, and prove fatal 



1776.I LIFE OF WASHINGTON. I0 y 

to our cause, as I am not sure whether any rubs in the 
way of our enlistments or unfavorable turn in our 
affairs, may not prove the means of the enemy's 
recruiting men faster then we do. To this may be 
added the inextricable difficulty of forming one corps 
out of another, and arranging matters with any degree 
of order, in the face of an enemy who are watching 
for advantages. 

" At Cambridge last year, where the officers (and 
more than a sufficiency of them) were all upon the 
spot, we found it a work of such extreme difficulty to 
know their sentiments (each having some terms to 
propose) that I despaired, once, of getting the arrange- 
ment completed, and do suppose that at least a hun- 
dred alterations took place before matters were finally 
adjusted ; what must it be then under the present 
regulation, where the officer is to negotiate this matter 
with the state he comes from, distant, perhaps, two 
or three hundred miles ; some of whom, without any 
license from me, set out to make personal application, 
the moment the resolution got to their hands ? What 
kind of officers these are, I leave Congress to judge. 

" If an officer of reputation (for none other should 
be applied to) be asked to stay, what answer can he 
give ? But in the first place, that he does not know 
whether it be at his option to do so ; no provision 
being made in the resolution of Congress, even recom- 
mendatory of this measure, consequently, that it rests 
with the state he comes from (surrounded perhaps 
with a variety of applications and influenced perhaps 
with local attachments) to determine whether he can 
be provided for or not. In the next place, if he be an 
officer of merit, and knows that the state he comes 
from is to furnish more battalions than it at present 



io8 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



1776. 



has in the service, he will scarcely, after two years' 
faithful services, think of continuing in the rank he 
now bears, when new creations are to be made and 
men appointed to offices (no way superior in merit, 
and ignorant of service perhaps) over his head. 

"A committee sent to the army from each state 
may, upon the spot, fix things with a degree of pro- 
priety and certainty, and is the only method I can see 
of bringing measures to a decision with respect to the 
officers of the army ; but what can be done in the 
mean time towards the arrangement in the country, I 
know not. In the one case, you run the hazard of 
losing your officers ; in the other of encountering 
delay ; unless some method could be devised of for- 
warding both at the same instant. 

" Upon the present plan, I plainly foresee an inter- 
vention of time between the old and new army, which 
must be filled with militia, if to be had, with whom no 
man, who has any regard for his own reputation, can 
undertake to be answerable for consequences. I shall 
also be mistaken in my conjectures, if we do not lose 
the most valuable officers in this army, under the 
present mode of appointing them ; consequently, if we 
have an army at all, it will be composed of materials 
not only entirely raw, but if uncommon pains be not 
taken, entirely unfit ; and I see such a distrust and 
jealousy of military power, that the Commander-in- 
Chief has not an opportunity, even by recommenda- 
tion, to give the least assurances of reward for the 
most essential services. 

" In a word, such a cloud of perplexing circum- 
stances appears before me, without one flattering hope, 
that I am thoroughly convinced, unless the most vigor- 
ous and decisive exertions be immediately adopted to 



1776.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. ^9 

remedy these evils, that the certain and absolute loss 
of our liberties will be the inevitable consequence ; as 
one unhappy stroke will throw a powerful weight into 
the scale against us, and enable General Howe to 
recruit his army as fast as we shall ours ; numbers 
being disposed, and many actually doing so already. 
Some of the most probable remedies, and such as 
experience has brought to my more intimate knowl- 
edge, I have taken the liberty to point out ; the rest I 
beg leave to submit to the consideration of Congress. 

" 1 ask pardon for taking up so much of their time 
with my opinions, but I should betray that trust 
which they and my country have reposed in me, were 
I to be silent upon matters so extremely inter- 
esting." 

General Howe too well understood the duty of a 
commander to attempt to storm the strong camp of 
his opponent. He adopted the plan of transporting 
his army above King's bridge, and forming an en- 
campment in rear of General Washington's lines. 
This manoeuvre, he expected, would either occasion 
the American Commander hastily to abandon his en- 
campment, or oblige him to hazard a general engage- 
ment under circumstances which would render a de- 
feat absolute ruin. To facilitate this design, he for 
tified M'Gowan's Hill for the defence of the city. 
Three frigates passed up the North river without in- 
jury from the fire of Forts Washington and Lee, and 
without impediment from the chevaux-de-frise that 
had been sunk in the river. The great body of 
troops on York Island was embarked in fiat- - 

1 Oct. 12 

bottomed boats, conveyed through Hurl Gate, 
and landed at Frog's Neck, near Westchester. 
General Washington fully comprehended the plan 



I IO 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1770. 



of the British commander, and immediately adopted 
measures to defeat it. The bridges were removed 
from the only road in which the British columns could 
march from Frog's Neck to the American encamp- 
ment, the ground being rough and in many places in- 
tersected by stone walls. The road itself was broken 
up, guns were mounted upon heights the most favor- 
able to annoy approaching troops, and detachments 
were sent out to act in front of the enemy, and to 
check his progress. As General Howe prosecuted 
his scheme it became evident to the American gen- 
eral officers that a change of position was necessary 
to save their army from destruction. General Lee 
about this time joined this army, and urged the im- 
mediate execution of the measure. The advice of 
his officers according with his own judgment, the 
Commander-in-Chief moved the army from York 
Island, and stretched it along the North river towards 
the White Plains, until its left was extended above 
the enemy's right. It was, however, determined to 
maintain Forts Washington and Lee. The resolution 
of Congress of the nth of October, requesting Gen- 
eral Washington in every possible way to obstruct 
the navigation of the river, had great influence on 
this decision. The removal of the stores was a heavy 
task to the men from the want of teams. 

General Howe moved his army to New 
Oct 18. Rochelle. Several sharp skirmishes ensued, 
in which the American troops behaved well. 
Both armies manoeuvred for several days to obtain pos- 
session of the high grounds of the White Plains. 
General Washington narrowly watched the move- 
ments of his enemy, and to secure a communication 
with the country, and to cover the removal of his 



I 77 6J LIFE OF WASHINGTON. hi 

heavy baggage, he disposed his forces upon the dif- 
ferent heights from Voluntine's Hill, near King's 
bridge, to the White Plains, forming a chain of forti- 
fied posts, twelve or thirteen miles in extent. He 
now fronted the British line of march, the river Brunx 
running between the two armies. During these op- 
erations severe skirmishes took place between ad- 
vanced corps, and a bold attempt was made to cut off 
a British regiment, which partially succeeded. The 
enterprise of the American commander rendered Gen- 
eral Howe extremely cautious ; his movements were 
made in close order, and in his encampments every 
corps was strongly secured. 

The sick and the stores having been re- 
moved to places of safety, General Washing- Oct. 25. 
ton drew in his outposts, and took possession 
of the hills on the east side of the Brunx in front of 
the British army. A detachment was posted on a 
hill a mile from the main body, on the west side of 
the river, to cover the right wing ; and entrenchments 
were formed, as time permitted, to render the lines 
more defensible. 

The manoeuvres of General Howe indicated 
the intention to attack the American camp ; Oct. 2a 
he reconnoitred their position, and with little 
effect opened a heavy cannonade upon it. He de- 
tached a large corps over the Brunx to drive the 
Americans from the hill on their right, and thereby 
open the way for an assault upon the right and cen- 
tre of the main body. The charge was sustained 
with spirit ; but finally the Americans were overpow- 
ered by numbers, and driven from this position. 
The loss of the Americans in the gallant conflict, in 
killed, wounded, and taken, was between three and 



I 12 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



four hundred; that of the British was not less. The 
day was so far spent in the struggle that General 
Howe deferred the attack upon the lines until next 
morning, and the whole British army lay through the 
night upon their arms, in face of the American en- 
campment. General Washington spent the time in 
making preparation for the expected assault ; he drew 
his right wing back into stronger ground, and strength- 
ened his left in its former position. The succeeding 
day the cautious Howe again reconnoitred the Amer- 
ican camp, and determined to suspend the attack until 
the arrival of a reinforcement from the city. This ad- 
ditional force reached him on the afternoon of the 
30th, and preparations were made for the attack ; 
but a violent rain prevented the execution of the 
design. 

The movements of the enemy manifesting 
Nov. 1. the design to turn the right flank of the 
Americans, and gain possession of the high 
ground in their rear, General Washington, having 
secured his heavy baggage and stores, at night with- 
drew his army from its present position, and formed 
it upon the heights of Newcastle, about five miles 
from the White Plains, and secured the bridge over 
Croton river. 

General Howe deemed the new encampment too 
strong to be forced, and marched off his army to 
other operations. 

The immediate object of General Howe 
Nov. 5. in leaving the White Plains was to invest 
Forts Washington and Lee. The possession 
of these fortresses would secure the free navigation 
of the North river, and facilitate the invasion of New 
Jersey. The American commander conformed his 



1776] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. II3 

movements to those of his enemy. He ordered all 
the troops raised on the west side of the Hudson to 
cross that river under the command of General Green, 
intending himself to cross as soon as the plans of 
General Howe should be more fully disclosed. Gen- 
eral Lee remained with the troops raised east of the 
Hudson, who was ordered to join Green's division, 
whenever the enemy should enter New Jersey. Gen- 
eral Washington informing Congress of his new 
arrangements, observed : " I cannot indulge the idea 
that General Howe, supposing him to be going to 
New York, means to close the campaign, and to sit 
down without attempting something more, I think 
it highly probable, and almost certain, that he will 
make a descent with a part of his troops into the Jer- 
seys, and as soon as I am satisfied that the present 
manoeuvre is real, and not a feint, I shall use all the 
means in my power to forward a part of our force to 
counteract his designs. 

" I expect the enemy will bend their force against 
Fort Washington, and invest it immediately. From 
some advice it is an object that will attract their ear- 
liest attention." 

He wrote to Governor Livingstone, informing him 
of the movements of the enemy, and advising him to 
hold the militia in their full strength, in constats 
readiness to defend their country. He also urged 
him to remove or destroy the stock and provisions on 
the sea-coast, lest these should fail into the hands of 
the British. He directed General Green to keep his 
eye on Mount Washington, to send off from his di- 
vision all stores not of immediate necessity, and to 
establish his magazines at Princeton, or some distant 
place of safety. 

8 



II4 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1776. 

While the British forces were marching to King's 
bridge, three ships of war sailed up the Hudson, with- 
out injury from the American batteries, or from the 
obstruction that had been sunk in the channel of the 
river. This fact convinced the General, that it was 
inexpedient longer to attempt the defence of Mount 

Washington. He accordingly again wrote to 
Nov. 8. General Green : " If we cannot prevent vessels 

from passing up, and the enemy are possessed 
of the surrounding country, what valuable purpose 
can it answer to attempt to hold a post, from which 
the expected benefit cannot be derived ? I am, there- 
fore, inclined to think it will not be prudent to hazard 
the men and stores at Mount Washington ; but as you 
are on the spot, I leave it to you to give such orders 
respecting the evacuation of the place, as you may 
think most advisable, and so far revoke the orders 
given Colonel Magaw to defend it to the last." In 
the presumption that the works were too strong to be 
carried by storm, and that regular approaches by artil- 
lery would give opportunity to draw off the garrison, 
when their circumstances should become desperate, 
General Green did not carry these discretionary orders 
into effect. He was induced to this delay, that he 
might, as long as possible, retain the passage of the 
river, and prevent the depression, which the evacua- 
tion of an important post might produce on the army 
and on the country. 

General Howe being in readiness for the 
Nov 15. assault, summoned the garrison to surrender. 

Colonel Magaw, the commanding officer- in 
spirited language, replied, that he should defend his 
works to extremity. He immediately communicated 
the summons to General Green,, and through him to 



1776.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. IIS 

the Commander-in-Chief, then at Hackensack. The 
General rode to Fort Lee, at which place he took 
boat, late at night, for Mount Washington ; but, on 
the river, met Generals Putnam and Green returning 
from a visit to the garrison, who informed him that 
the men were in high spirits, and would make a brave 
defence, and he returned with them to Fort Lee. 

On the succeeding morning the enemy made the 
assault in four separate divisions. The Hessians, 
commanded by General Knyphausen, moved down 
from King's bridge to attack the north side of the 
fort ; they were gallantly opposed, and repeatedly re- 
pulsed by Colonel Rawlings's regiment of riflemen 
posted on a hill back of the works. Lord Percy, ac- 
companied by General Howe, assaulted the works on 
the south ; General Mathews crossed the North river, 
and landed within the second line of defence, while a 
considerable part of the garrison were in the first, 
fighting with Lord Percy. Colonel Cadwallader, the 
commander at this post, fearing an attack on his rear, 
retreated in confusion towards the fort ; but the 
fourth British column crossing the North river at this 
moment, within the lines, intercepted a part of Cad- 
wallader's troops, and made them prisoners. In the 
mean time, Knyphausen had overcome the obstinate 
resistance of Colonel Rawlings, and gained the sum- 
mit of the hill. The whole garrison now entered the 
fort or retreated under its guns. 

The enemy having surmounted the outworks, again 
summoned the garrison to surrender. His ammuni- 
tion being nearly expended, and his force incompetent 
to repel the numbers which were ready on every side 
to assail him, Colonel Magaw surrendered himself and 
his garrison, consisting of two thousand men, prison- 



u6 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1756 

ers of war. The enemy lost in the assault about eight 
hundred men, mostly Germans. Soon after the sec- 
ond summons, General Washington found means to 
send a billet to Colonel Magaw, requesting him to 
defend himself until the evening, and he would take 
measures to bring him off ; but the situation of the 
garrison was too desperate, and the negotiation had 
proceeded too far to make the attempt. 

The conquest of Mount Washington made the eva- 
cuation of Fort Lee necessary. Orders were there- 
fore Issued to remove the ammunition and stores in it ; 
but before much progress had been made in this busi- 
ness, Lord Cornwallis crossed the Hudson 
Nov. 18. with a number of battalions, with the inten- 
tion to enclose the garrison between the 
Hackensack and North rivers. This movement made 
a precipitate retreat indispensable, which was happily 
effected with little loss of men ; but a greater part 
of the artillery, stores, and baggage, was left for the 
enemy. 

The loss at Mount Washington was heavy. The 
regiments captured in it were some of the best troops 
in the army. The tents, camp-kettles, and stores, lost 
at this place and at Fort Lee, could not during the 
campaign be replaced, and for the want of them the 
men suffered extremely. This loss was unnecessarily 
sustained. Those posts ought, unquestionably, to 
have been evacuated before General Howe was in a 
situation to invest them. When the British General 
gained possession of the country above those positions, 
they became in a great degree useless to the Ameri- 
cans. This opinion is clearly expressed in the letter 
of General Washington to General Green. The 
error to be attributed to the Commander-in-Chief 



1776 ] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON 



"7 



consisted in submitting the measure of evacuation to 
the discretion of a subaltern officer, instead of abso- 
lutely directing it, in the exercise of powers vested in 
him After the disastrous event had taken place, he 
possessed too much magnanimity to exculpate him- 
self by criminating General Green. 

The American force was daily diminished by the 
expiration of the soldiers' term of enlistment, and by 
the desertion of the militia. 

When General Howe in force crossed into 
New Jersey, General Washington posted Nov, 29. 
the army under his immediate command, con- 
sisting of only three thousand men, along the Hack- 
ensack ; but was unable seriously to oppose the en- 
emy in its passage. The country behind him was 
level ; he was without entrenching tools, and without 
tents ; his troops were miserably clothed, and the sea- 
son was becoming inclement. The firm mind of Gen- 
eral Washington sunk not under these depressing 
circumstances. Although no bright prospect pre- 
sented itself to his contemplation, yet he exerted him- 
self to increase his effective force, and to make the best 
disposal of that under his direction. He ordered Gen- 
eral Schuyler to send to his aid the troops belonging 
to Pennsylvania and Jersey, which had been attached 
to the Northern army ; but their term of service ex- 
pired before they reached his encampment, and they 
brought him no effectual support. He ordered Gen- 
eral Lee to cross the Hudson, and join him with those 
of his troops, whose time of service was not expiring ; 
but General Lee loitered upon the East side of the 
river, and discovered an ardent inclination to retain a 
separate command in the rear of the enemy. Wash- 
ington in repeated messages informed Lee that his 



n8 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1776. 

joining was of absolute necessity; that the people of 
Jersey expected security from the American army, 
and if disappointed, they would yield no support to a 
force that did not protect them ; and cautioned him to 
take his route so high in the country, as to avoid the 
danger of being intercepted by the enemy. These or- 
ders General Lee executed in a reluctant and tardy 
manner, and soon after he entered New Jersey, care 
lessly taking his quarters for a night in a house three 
miles from his force, he was surprised and taken pris- 
oner by a detachment of British dragoons. General 
Washington also renewed his letters to Congress, 
and to the Executives of the neighboring States, urging 
them to bring the whole strength of the militia into the 
field, to enable him to check the progress of the in- 
vading foe. To back these requests, he directed Gen- 
eral Mifflin to repair to Philadelphia, General Arm- 
strong to the interior of Pennsylvania, and Colonel 
Reed, his Adjutant-General, to the distant counties of 
New Jersey. The known influence of these gentlemen 
in those places, united to the exertions of the consti- 
tuted authorities, would, the General hoped, bring a 
powerful reinforcement to his army. All these efforts 
were for the present time ineffectual. 

As General Howe advanced, the American army 
retreated towards the Delaware. It frequently hap- 
pened, that the front guard of the British entered one 
end of a village, as the rear of the Americans quitted 
the other. Whenever it could be done with safety, 
General Washington made a stand, to show the sem- 
blance of an army, and to retard the progress of the 
enemy. 

At Brunswick, Lord and General Howe, commis- 
sioners, issued a proclamation, commanding all per* 



1776.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 

sons in arms against the King, peaceably to return 
to their homes, and all civil officers to desist from 
their treasonable practices ; and offering a full par- 
don to all persons, who should in sixty days appear 
before appointed officers of the crown, and sub- 
scribe a declaration of their submission to royal au- 
thority. 

This was the most gloomy period of the revo- 
lutionary war. It was the crisis of the struggle Dec. 
of the United States for Independence. The 
American army, reduced in numbers, depressed by 
defeat, and exhausted by fatigue, naked, barefoot, and 
destitute of tents, and even of utensils, with which 
to dress their scanty provisions, was fleeing before a 
triumphant army, well appointed and abundantly sup- 
plied. A general spirit of despondency through New 
Jersey was the consequence of this disastrous state of 
public affairs. No city or town indeed, in its corpo- 
rate capacity, submitted to the British government. 
A few characters of distinction maintained their polit- 
ical integrity ; and nearly a thousand of the militia of 
the State bravely kept the field in defence of their 
country. But most of the families of fortune and in- 
fluence discovered an inclination to return to their 
allegiance to the king. Many of the yeomanry claimed 
the benefits of the Commissioners' . proclamation ; 
and the great body of them were too much taken up 
with the security of their families and their property, 
to make any exertion in the public cause, 

In this worst of times Congress stood unmoved. 
Their measures exhibited no symptoms of confusion 
or dismay, the public danger only roused them to 
more vigorous exertions, that they might give a firmer 
tone the public mind, and animate the citizens of 



120 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



United America to a manly defence of their Indepen- 
dence. 

Beneath this cloud of adversity, General Washing- 
ton shone, perhaps with a brighter lustre, than in the 
day of his highest prosperity. Not dismayed by all the 
difficulties which encompassed him, he accommodated 
his measures to his situation, and still made the 
good of his country the object of his unwearied pur- 
suit. He ever wore the countenance of composure 
and confidence ; by his own example inspiring his 
little band with firmness to struggle with adverse 
fortune. 

As the British advanced upon him, he retreated, 
and having previously broken down the bridges on 
the Jersey shore, he crossed the Delaware, 
Dec. 8. and secured the boats upon the river for a dis- 
tance of seventy miles. The van of the en- 
emy appeared upon the left bank of the Delaware, 
while the rear of the American army was upon its 
passage. 

After an unsuccessful attempt to procure boats to 
pass the Delaware, General Howe cantoned his army 
in New Jersey, intending to wait until the frost of 
winter should furnish him with an easy passage upon 
the ice to Philadelphia. He stationed four thousand 
men along the Delaware at Trenton, Bordentown, the 
White Horse, and Burlington ; and the residue of 
his force, he posted between the Delaware and the 
Hackensack. 

General Washington ordered the American galleys 
to keep the river, narrowly to watch the enemy, and 
to give the earliest notice of their movements. He 
posted his troops upon the south side of the Delaware, 
vn situations the most favorable to guard the fords 



I776.I LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 121 

and ferries ; and he gave written instructions to the 
commanding officer of each detachment, directing 
what passes he should defend, if driven from his post, 
on his retreat to the heights of Germantown. While 
waiting for reinforcements he kept a steady eye on 
the enemy, and used every means in his power to gain 
correct information of their plans. This moment of 
inaction he also embraced, to lay before Congress his 
reiterated remonstrances against the fatal system of 
short enlistments. He hoped that experience, by its 
severe chastisement, would produce the conviction 
upon that body, which his arguments and persuasions 
had not fully effected. 

He urged Congress to establish corps of 
cavalry, artillerists and engineers, and pressed Dec. 20. 
upon them the necessity of establishing ad- 
ditional regiments of infantry. He knew that objec- 
tions to these measures would arise, on account of 
the expense, and from the consideration that the old 
battalions were not yet filled ; these he obviated by 
observing, that " more men would in this way on the 
whole be raised, and that our funds were not the only 
object now to be taken into consideration. We find," 
he added, "that the enemy are daily gathering 
strength from the disaffected. This strength, like a 
snowball by rolling, will increase, unless some means 
can be devised to check, effectually, the progress of 
the enemy's arms : militia may possibly do it for a 
little while ; but in a little while also, the militia of 
these States which have frequently been called upon, 
will not turn out at call ; or if they do, it will be with 
so much reluctance and sloth, as to amount to the 
same thing ; instance New Jersey ! witness Pennsyl- 
vania ! could anything but the River Delaware have 



122 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



saved Philadelphia ? — could anything (the exigency 
of the case indeed may justify it) be more destructive 
to the recruiting service than giving ten dollars boun- 
ty for six weeks' service of the militia, who come in, 
you cannot tell how, go, you cannot tell when, and 
act, you cannot tell where — consume your provisions, 
exhaust your stores, and leave you at last at a critical 
moment. These are the men I am to depend upon 
ten days hence. This is the basis on which your 
cause will, and must forever depend, till you get a 
large standing army, sufficient of itself to oppose the 
enemy." 

With deference he suggested to Congress the expe- 
diency of enlarging his own powers, that he might 
execute important measures, without consulting with 
them, and possibly, by the delay, missing the favora- 
ble moment of action. "It may be said," he observed, 
" that this is an application for powers that are too 
dangerous to be entrusted. I can only add, that des- 
perate diseases require desperate remedies, and with 
truth declare, that I have no lust after power, but 
wish with as much fervency as any man upon the 
wide extended continent, for an opportunity of turning 
the sword into a ploughshare. But my feelings as an 
officer and a man have been such as to force me to 
say, that no person ever had are great choice of 
difficulties to contend with than I have." Having 
recommended sundry other measures, and mentioned 
several arrangements which he had adopted beyond 
the spirit of his commission, he concluded with the 
following observations : — 

" It maybe thought that I am going a good deal out 
of the line of my duty to adopt these measures, or to 
advise thus freely. A character to lose, an estate to 



1776] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 12 $ 

forfeit, the inestimable blessings of liberty at stake, 
and a life devoted, must be my apology." 

These weighty representations were not 
fruitless. Congress, by a resolution, invested Dec 27. 
their General with almost unlimited powers 
to manage the war. 

The united exertions of civil and military officers 
had by this time brought a considerable body of mi- 
litia into the field. General Sullivan too, on whom the 
command of General Lee's division devolved upon his 
capture, promptly obeyed the orders of the Com 
mander-in -Chief, and at this period joined him; and 
General Heath was marching a detachment from 
Peck's Kill. The army, with these reinforcements, 
amounted to seven thousand men, and General Wash- 
ington determined to recommence active operations. 

General Maxwell had already been sent into New 
Jersey, to take the command of three regiments of 
regular forces, and about eight hundred of the militia. 
His orders were to give the inhabitants all possible 
support, and to prevent the disaffected from going 
into the British lines to make their submission, harass 
the marches of the enemy, and to give early intelli- 
gence of their movements, particularly of those to- 
wards Princeton and Trenton. 

These measures were preparatory to more enter- 
prising and bold operations. General Washington 
had noticed the loose and uncovered state of the win- 
ter-quarters of the British army, and he contemplated 
the preservation of Philadelphia, and the recovery of 
New Jersey, by sweeping, at one stroke, all the Brit- 
ish cantonments upon the Delaware. The present po- 
sition of his forces favored the execution of his plan. 

The troops under the immediate command of Gen- 



124 



IIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1776 



eral Washington, consisting of about two thousand 
and four hundred men, were ordered to cross the river 
at M'Konkey's ferry, nine miles above Trenton, to at- 
tack that post. General Irvine was directed to cross 
with his division at Trenton ferry, to secure the bridge 
below the town, and prevent the retreat of the enemy 
that way. General Cadwallader received orders to 
pass the river at Bristol ferry, and assault the post at 
Burlington. The night of the twenty-fifth was as- 
signed for the execution of this daring scheme. It 
proved to be severely cold, and so much ice was made 
in the river, that General Irvine and General Cad- 
wallader, after having strenuously exerted themselves, 
found it impracticable to pass their divisions, and their 
part of the plan totally failed. 

The Commander-in-Chief was more fortunate. 
With difficulty he crossed the river, but was delayed 
in point of time. He expected to have reached Tren- 
ton at the dawn of day, and it was three o'clock in the 
morning before he had passed the troops and artillery 
over the river, and four before he commenced his line 
of march. Being now distant nine miles from the 
British encampment, the attempt to surprise it was 
given up. He formed his little army into two divi- 
sions, one of which was directed to proceed by the 
river road into the west end of Trenton, and the other 
by the Pennington road which leads into the north 
end of the town. The distance being equal, the Gen- 
eral supposed that each division would arrive at the 
scene of action about the same time ; and therefore 
he ordered each to attack the moment of its arrival, 
and driving in the piquet guard, to press after it into 
the town. The General accompanying the division on 
the Pennington road, reached the outpost of the en- 



1776] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 125 

emy precisely at eight o'clock, and in three minutes 
after, had the satisfaction to hear the firing of his 
men on the other road. 

The brave Colonel Rawle, the commanding officer, 
paraded his forces for the defence of his post. He 
was by the first fire mortally wounded, and his men, in 
apparent dismay, attempted to file off towards Prince- 
ton. General Washington perceiving their inten- 
tion, moved a part of his troops into this road in their 
front, and defeated the design. Their artillery being 
seized, and the Americans pressing upon them, they 
surrendered. Twenty of the Germans were killed,- 
and one thousand made prisoners. By the failure of 
General Irvine, a small body of the enemy stationed 
in the lower part of the town escaped over the bridge 
to Bordentown. Of the American troops, two privates 
were killed, and two frozen to death, one officer and 
three or four privates were wounded. 

Could the other divisions have crossed the Dela- 
ware, General Washington's plan in its full extent 
would probably have succeeded. Not thinking it pru- 
dent to hazard the fruits of this gallant stroke by more 
daring attempts, the General the same day recrossed. 
the Delaware with his prisoners, with six pieces of ar- 
tillery, a thousand stand of arms, and some military 
stores. 

General Howe was astonished at this display of en- 
terprise and vigor. He found the American Com- 
mander a formidable enemy under circumstances of 
the greatest depression, and although in the depth of 
winter, determined to recommence active operations. 
In pursuance of this resolution, he called in his out- 
posts and assembled a powerful force at Princeton. 

Having allowed his men two or three days' rest 



126 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1777. 



General Washington again passed into New Jersey 
and concentrated his forces, amounting to five thou- 
sand, at Trenton. He pushed a small detachment to 
Maidenhead, about half way between Trenton and 
Princeton, to watch the movement of the enemy, and 
delay their march, should they advance upon him. 

On the next morning Lord Cornwallis moved 
■^jj 77 2} towards the American General with a supe- 
rior force, and reached Trenton at four o'clock 
of the afternoon. General Washington drew up his 
men behind Assumpinck creek, which runs through 
the town. A cannonade was opened on both sides. 
His Lordship attempted at several places to cross the 
creek ; but finding the passes guarded, he halted his 
troops, and kindled his fires. 

Early in the evening General Washington assem- 
bled his officers in council, and stated to them the 
critical situation of the army. " In the morning," he 
observed, " we certainly shall be attacked by a supe- 
rior force, defeat must operate our absolute destruc- 
tion, a retreat across the Delaware is extremely ha- 
zardous, if practicable, on account of the ice. In 
either case, the advantages of our late success will be 
sacrificed. New Jersey must again be resigned to the 
enemy, and a train of depressing and disastrous con- 
sequences will ensue." He then proposed to their 
consideration the expediency of the following measure: 
" Shall we silently quit our present position, by a cir- 
cuitous route, gain the rear of the enemy at Princeton, 
and there avail ourselves of favorable circumstances ? 
By this measure we shall avoid the appearance of a 
retreat, we shall assume the aspect of vigorous opera- 
tion, inspirit the public mind, and subserve the inter- 
est of our country," 



I777-I LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 12 j 

The plan was unanimously approved, and measures 
were instantly adopted for its execution ; the baggage 
was silently removed to Burlington ; the fires were re- 
newed, and ordered to be kept up through the night; 
guards were posted at the bridge and fords of the 
creek, and directed to go the usual rounds. At one 
o'clock at night, the army moved upon the left flank 
of the enemy, and unperceived gained their rear. 
The weather, which for several days had been warm, 
suddenly changed to a severe frost ; and the roads 
which had been deep and muddy, immediately became 
hard, and marching upon them easy. 

About sunrise the American van met the advance 
of three British regiments, which had the preceding 
night encamped at Princeton, and were on their way 
to join Lord Cornwallis. A severe skirmish took 
place between this advanced corps and General Mer- 
cer, who commanded the militia in front of the Ameri- 
can line. The militia at length gave way, and in the 
effort to rally them, General Mercer was mortally 
wounded. General Washington advanced at the 
head of those troops which had signalized themselves 
at Trenton, and exposed himself to the hottest fire of 
the enemy. His men bravely supported him, and the 
British in their return were repulsed, and the different 
regiments separated. That in the rear retreated with 
little loss to Brunswick. Colonel Mawhood in the 
van, with a part of his men, forced his way through 
the Americans, and reached Trenton. More than a 
hundred of the British were left on the field of battle, 
and three hundred of them were made prisoners. Be- 
sides General Mercer, whose death was greatly la- 
mented, the Americans in this action lost two colonels, 



128 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1777. 



two captains, five other officers, and nearly a hun- 
dred privates. 

On the return of day, Lord Cornwallis found that 
he had been out-generalled. Comprehending the de- 
sign of Washington, he broke up his encampment 
and with the utmost expedition retraced his steps, 
for the preservation of the stores in his rear ; and he 
was close upon the Americans, as they marched out 
of Princeton. 

It had been the intention of General Washington 
to proceed to Brunswick, where the British had large 
magazines, and where was their military chest, which 
at this time, as it afterwards appeared, contained 
seventy thousand pounds sterling. But many of his 
soldiers had not slept for forty-eight hours, none of 
them for the last twenty-four, and they were exhausted 
by excessive duty. They were closely pursued by 
a superior force, which must be up with them be- 
fore the stores at Brunswick could be destroyed, should 
they meet with serious opposition at that place. Gen- 
eral Washington therefore relinquished this part of 
his plan, and prudently led his army to a place of 
security, to give them the rest which they greatly 
needed. 

The successes of the American arms at Trenton 
and at Princeton were followed by important conse- 
quences. The affairs of the United States, before 
these events, appeared to be desperate. Two thou- 
sand of the regular troops had a right, on the first of 
January, to demand their discharge. The recruiting 
service was at an end, and general despondency pre- 
vailed. The triumphs of the British through the pre- 
vious parts of the campaign produced a common ap- 
prehension, in the citizens of the Middle States, that 



I 7 77 ] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. I2 g 

any further struggle would be useless ; and that 
America must eventually return to her allegiance to 
Great Britain. Many individuals made their peace 
with the commissioners, and took protection from the 
officers of the crown ; and more discovered the incli- 
nation u do it, when opportunity should present. 
General Howe supposed New Jersey restored to the 
British Government, and thought the war drawing to 
to a close. But these successes were considered as 
great victories, and produced consequent effects upon 
the public mind. The character of the Commander- 
in-Chief proportionably rose in the estimation of the 
great mass of American people, who now respected 
themselves, and confided in their persevering efforts 
to secure the great object of contention, the inde- 
pendence of their country. 

Other causes had a powerful operation upon the 
minds of the yeomanry of New Jersey. The British 
commanders tolerated, or at least neglected to restrain 
gross licentiousness in their army. The inhabitants 
of the State, which they boasted was restored to the 
bosom of the parent country, were treated not as re- 
claimed friends, but as conquered enemies. The sol- 
diery were guilty of every species of rapine, and with 
little discrimination between those who had opposed 
or supported the measures of Britain. The abuse was 
not limited to the plundering of property. Every in- 
dignity was offered to the persons of the inhabitants, 
r ^t excepting those outrages to the female sex, which 
are felt by ingenuous minds with the keenest anguish, 
and tx if e noble spirits to desperate resistance. These 
aggravated abuses roused the people of New Jersey 
to repel that army, to which they had voluntarily 
submitted, in the expectation of protection and se- 

9 



j^o LIFE OF WASHINGTON- [i 777 . 

curity. At the dawn of success upon the American 
arms, they rose in small bands to oppose their in- 
vaders. They scoured the country, cut off every 
soldier who straggled from his corps ; and in many 
instances repelled the foraging parties of the enemy. 

The enterprising manoeuvres of the American Gen- 
eral, and the returning spirit of the Jersey yeomanry, 
rendered General Howe, now Sir William, very cau- 
tious and circumspect. He contracted his canton- 
ments for winter-quarters, and concentrated his force 
in New Jersey at Brunswick and Amboy. 

By this time, the period of service of the Conti- 
nental battalions had expired, and the recruits for the 
new army were not yet in camp. Offensive opera- 
tions, therefore, were of necessity suspended by the 
American General ; but, with the small force at his 
disposal, he straitened the enemy's quarters, and 
circumscribed their foraging excursions. 

At Christmas the power of the British was extended 
over the whole of New Jersey, and their commanders 
boasted, that a corporal's guard might in safety pa- 
rade in every part of the province. Before the ex- 
piration of January, they possessed but two posts in 
the State, and these were in the neighborhood of their 
shipping. The power of their arms extended not be- 
yond the reach of the guns of their fortifications. 
Every load of forage, and every pound of provision, 
obtained from the inhabitants, was procured by the 
bayonets of large detachments, and the price of blood. 



1776J LIFE OF WASHINGTON. I3I 



CHAPTER IV. 

General Washington disposes his small force for the protection 
of New Jersey — Army inoculated — Abuse of American pris- 
oners — The exchange of General Lee refused — Stores at 
Peck's Kill and Danbury destroyed — American army takes post 
at Middlebrook — Sir William Howe moves towards the Dela- 
ware — Returns to Staten Island and embarks his troops — He 
lands at the head of Elk — General Washington marches to 
meet him — Battle of Brandywine — Effects of a storm — British 
take possession of Philadelphia — Mud Island and Red Bank 
fortified — Obstructions in the river — Attack on Mud Island 
— Count Donop defeated — British surmount the fortifications 
of the river — Plan to attack Philadelphia — Sir William 
Howe reconnoitres the American camp at White Marsh — 
The army posted at Valley Forge— The privations of the 
soldiers during the winter. 

1777. General Washington indulged the hope 
that the brilliant success, at the close of the last cam- 
paign, would stimulate his country to bring a force 
into the field, which would enable him, in the course 
of the winter, to drive the enemy into New York, to 
straiten their quarters and prevent their obtaining 
any supplies from the neighboring counties. Being 
disappointed in this hope, he disposed his small force 
in the best manner to protect New Jersey, and ex- 
erted himself to prepare for the approaching season 
of action. 

The most popular officers were sent into the States 
in which they had the greatest influence, to aid the 
recruiting service, and to push the recruits forward to 
camp, in small bodies, as they could be made ready. 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1776. 



The army having suffered extremely from the 
small-pox, the General resolved that they should be 
relieved from the scourge and terror of this disease. 
Orders were accordingly given secretly to inoculate 
the Continental soldiers in their winter-quarters ; and 
places were assigned at which the recruits were to go 
through the operation, as they successively approached 
the camp. The measure was attended with success, 
and Sir William did not avail himself of the temporary 
debility of the American army. 

Congress had also admitted the expectation of 
splendid events during the winter. In answer to a 
letter expressing this expectation, the Commander-in- 
Chief gave the following account of the state of his 
army. 

" Could I accomplish the important object, 
March 4. so e igerly wished by Congress, confining the 
enemy in their present quarters, preventing 
their gathering supplies from the country, and totally 
subduing them before they are reinforced, I should 
be happy indeed. But what prospect, or hope, can 
there be, of my effecting so desirable a work at this 
time ? The enclosed return, to which I solicit the 
most serious attention of Congress, comprehends the 
whole force I have in the Jerseys. It is but a hand- 
ful, and bears no proportion, in the scale of numbers, 
to that of the enemy. Added to this, the major part 
is made up of militia. The most sanguine in specu- 
lation cannot deem it more than adequate to the least 
valuable purposes of war." The whole number capa- 
ble of duty was short of three thousand. Two-thirds 
of these were militia, whose time of service would 
expire with the month. 

During the winter General Spencer planned an ex- 



1776.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 133 

pedition against the British trocps on Rhode Island. 
The Commander-in-Chief advised that the attempt 
should not be made, without the strongest probability 
of success. The scheme was relinquished, and the 
General fully expressed his approbation of it. " It is 
right not to risk a miscarriage. Until we get our 
new army properly established, it is our business to 
play a certain game, and not to depend on the militia 
for anything capital." The weakness of General 
Washington was concealed from his friends and 
from his foes, and he was not molested at head-quar- 
ters by Sir William Howe. 

The remonstrances of the Commander-in-Chief 
upon the state of the army had in some degree pro- 
duced their effect upon Congress. The corps of artil- 
lerists was increased to three regiments, and the com- 
mand of it given to Colonel Knox, who at this time 
was promoted to be a Brigadier-General. A resolu- 
tion also passed Congress, to raise three thousand 
cavalry ; and General Washington was empowered 
to establish a corps of engineers. Few, if any, native 
Americans having been systematically educated to 
this branch of war, the corps was principally formed 
of foreigners, and General Du Portail, an officer of 
distinguished merit, was placed at its head. 

The arrangement of the army gave the Com- 
mander-in-Chief inconceivable trouble. Congress, as 
the head of the Union, regulated the general military 
system ; but the governments of the several States 
were in their respective departments sovereign. In- 
deed the separate States only possessed coercive 
power. These raised their proportion of troops, and 
their agency was blended with that of Congress in 
clothing and supporting the men. The state regula- 



I34 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 

tions respecting bounty and pay were different, and 
occasioned jealousies -in the army, vexations to the 
General, and destructive of subordination and disci- 
pline. The States which conceived themselves ex- 
posed to the invasion of the enemy, discovered an 
inclination to direct a part of the general force to 
their security, or to raise state battalions for their de- 
fence, and to be at their disposal. General Wash- 
ington, in his correspondence with Congress, and 
with the State governments, represented the evils that 
must ensue, should any discrimination of pay or treat- 
ment be made among soldiers of the same army. He 
also stated, that if the force of the country should be 
placed under different heads, sufficient strength could 
not be collected to defend any one point ; and while 
the general defence was weakened, it would be im- 
possible, by any disposition of the army, to prevent 
the partial depredations of the enemy. These em- 
barrassments were happily overruled by the personal 
influence of the General ; and before the campaign 
opened, the arrangements of the army were brought 
into order and method. 

The treatment of American prisoners by the British 
commanders was another source of vexation and diffi- 
culty. At the commencement of hostilities, General 
Gage did not view the Americans as a community con- 
tending for their constitutional rights, but as the re- 
volted subjects of his royal master, and the unhappy 
men, whom the fortune of war placed in his hands, 
he, without regard to military rank, confined in prison 
as rebels with common felons. Against a practice 
militating with common usage, and calculated to in- 
crease the miseries of war, General Washington 
forcibly remonstrated In a letter to General Gage, 



I777-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. ! 3S 

he mentioned, that in his apprehension, the obliga- 
tions of humanity and the claims of rank are uni- 
versally binding, except in the case of retaliation. He 
expressed " the hope he had entertained, that they 
would have induced, on the part of the British Gen- 
eral, a conduct more conformable to the rights they 
gave. While he claimed the benefits of these rights, 
he declared his determination to be regulated entirely 
in his conduct towards the prisoners who should fall 
into his hands, by the treatment which those in the 
power of the British General should receive." To 
this letter a very haughty and insolent answer was 
given, in which General Gage retorted the charge of 
abuse towards prisoners, and stated, as a mark of 
British clemency, that the cord was not applied to 
those of whose imprisonment complaint was made. 
To this abusive communication, General Washington 
replied in a manner worthy of his character, and 
which reply, he observed, was " to close their corre- 
spondence, perhaps forever." He concluded with 
saying, " if your officers, our prisoners, receive from 
me a treatment different from what I wished to show 
them, they and you will remember the occasion of 
it." Accordingly all the British officers in his power 
were put into close jail, and the soldiers were con 
fined in places of security. Directions were par 
ticularly given to subaltern agents, to explain to the 
sufferers the causes which led to this severity of 
treatment. 

When Howe succeeded to the command of the 
British army, he admitted American officers to their 
parole, and consented to an exchange of prisoners ; 
and General Washington gladly resumed his former 
treatment of captives. 



136 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 

The capture of General Lee furnished another 
cause of irritation on this subject. He had been a 
British officer, and had engaged in the American ser- 
vice before the acceptance of the resignation of his 
commission. Sir William Howe for this reason pre- 
tended to view him as a traitor, and at first refused to 
admit him to his parole, or to consider him as a sub- 
ject of exchange. Congress directed the Commander- 
in-Chief to pr:pose to Sir William Howe to exchange 
six field-officers for General Lee. In case the pro- 
posal was rejected that body resolved, that these of- 
ficers should be closely confined, and in every respect 
receive the treatment that General Lee did. The 
proposition not being acceded to, the resolution of 
Congress was carried into effect by the Executives of 
the States, in whose custody the selected field officers 
were, with a degree of severity which the treatment 
of General Lee did not warrant. 

The general plan of retaliation adopted by Con- 
gress for abuses offered to Americans in the power 
of the British, the sound judgment of General Wash- 
ington conceived to be unjust and impolitic, and his 
humane heart recoiled at its execution. Some of the 
resolutions of that honorable body, on this subject, 
he thought exposed his own honor to impeachment 
by Sir William Howe. Against those resolutions, he 
pointedly remonstrated, and detailed the evils they 
were calculated to produce to the nation, and to the 
Americans, prisoners with the British. His repre- 
sentations through a long period had not their due 
effect, but eventually Congress was constrained to 
adopt the measures he recommended. 

Resolving never himself to aggravate the miseries 
of war, by wanton deeds of cruelty, General Wash- 



1777.1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. I3? 

INGTON was disposed to adopt and execute those laws 
of retaliation which would constrain the enemy to 
conduct their military operations in the spirit of 
humanity. Repeated and heavy complaints were 
made of the cruel treatment which the American 
prisoners received in New York ; and the sickly and 
debilitated state of those who were sent out to be 
exchanged, confirmed the truth of the charge. Many 
of them fainted and died before they reached head- 
quarters. General Howe demanded that all prisoners 
delivered at the lines to an officer, should be accounted 
for in the cartel, and British soldiers returned to the 
full amount. General Washington absolutely refused 
to reckon those who died on their way to the Amer- 
ican camp; and he unweariedly exerted himself to 
correct the abuse to American prisoners. In the 
beginning of April this year, he wrote Sir William 
Howe, " It is a fact not to be questioned, that 
the usage of our prisoners while in your posses- 
sion, the privates at least, was such as could not 
be justified. This was proclaimed by the concurrent 
testimony of all who came out, their appearance sancti- 
fied the assertion, and melancholy experience, in the 
speedy death of a large part of them, stamped it with 
infallible certainty." These measures induced the 
enemy to a more humane treatment of their prisoners ; 
but disputes on the subject prevented the establish- 
ment of a regular cartel until a late period of the war. 

In March the enemy sent out two detachments to 
destroy the American stores at Peck's Kill on the 
North river, and at Danbury in Connecticut. Both 
succeeded in their attempt; and although the stores 
destroyed did not equal in quantity the report on 
which the expeditions were planned, yet their loss was 



138 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 

sensibly felt by the Americans in the active season of 
the campaign. 

In the near approach of active operations, Congress 
resolved that a camp should be formed on the west- 
ern side of Philadelphia. General Washington had 
already adopted his plan for the campaign, and request- 
ed that this camp, if formed, should consist wholly of 
militia. In the expectation that Sir William Howe 
would either attempt to gain possession of the High- 
lands on North river, and co-operate with General 
Burgoyne from Canada ; or renew the plan of the last 
campaign, to march through New Jersey for Philadel- 
phia, the General determined to post his army upon 
the strong ground in New Jersey, north of the road 
through Brunswick, to Philadelphia. In this position 
he might protect Philadelphia, and a great part of 
New Jersey. The situation was also favorable to 
defend the passes and forts on the North river. To 
this post he wished to collect a force sufficient to re- 
pel an assault from General Howe. In the location of 
his army, the General had another object of mag- 
nitude upon his mind. In his opinion it was uncer- 
tain whether General Burgoyne would by sea join Sir 
William Howe, or retaining a separate command, at- 
tempt the conquest of Ticonderoga, and an impression 
upon the Hudson. Which of these measures would 
be pursued he could not determine, until the plan of 
the enemy were unfolded. To guard against both, he 
ordered the troops raised north of the Hudson to be 
divided between Ticonderoga and Peck's Kill, and those 
south, including North Carolina, to be stationed in New 
Jersey. The troops of South Carolina and Georgia 
were left for their own defence. By this disposition 
of his forces, the General was in a situation to rein- 



1777 ] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. I39 

force Ticonderoga from Peck's Kill, should Burgoyne 
attack that post, or reinforce his own army from 
those posts, should Burgoyne join Sir William Howe. 

In pursuance of this plan, on the last of May, the 
winter encampment at Morristown was broken up, 
and a camp formed at Middlebrook, about ten miles 
from Brunswick. The position naturally strong, was 
strengthened by entrenchments. The weak state of 
the American army required for its safety every ad- 
vantage of ground, as well as the utmost caution of 
the General. On the 20th of May, the troops in New 
Jersey, exclusive of cavalry and artillery, amounted only 
to eight thousand three hundred and seventy-eight 
men, of whom more than two thousand were sick. The 
troops of North Carolina had not then joined the army, 
and about five hundred of the militia of Jersey were not 
included in the estimate. This force was in numbers 
much inferior to the army commanded by Sir William 
Howe, and many of the Americans were recruits who 
had never faced an enemy. 

Sir William having collected his force at Brunswick, 
about the middle of June marched in two columns 
towards the Delaware. By this movement, he ex- 
pected to induce General Washington to quit his 
fortified camp to oppose the enemy's passage of the 
river, and that a general engagement would, in conse- 
quence, take place on ground favorable to the British 
commander. General Washington was not ensnared 
by this stratagem. In a letter written at the moment, 
his apprehensions of this manoeuvre are thus conveyed : 
— " The views of the enemy must be to destroy this 
army and get possession of Philadelphia. I am, how- 
ever, clearly of opinion that they will not move that 
way until they have endeavored to give a severe blow 



T 4 o LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 

to this army. The risk would be too great to attempt 
to cross a river; when they must expect to meet a 
formidable opposition in front, and would have such a 
force as ours in the rear. Thev might possibly be 
successful, but the probability would be infinitely 
against them. Should they be imprudent enough to 
make the attempt, I shall keep close upon their heels, 
and will do everything in my power to make the pre 
ject fatal to them. 

i( But besides the argument in favor of their intend- 
ing, in the first place, a stroke at this army, drawn 
from the policy of the measure, every appearance 
contributes to confirm the opinion. Had their design 
been for the Delaware, in the first instance, they 
would probably have made a secret, rapid march for it, 
and not have halted so as to awaken our attention, 
and give us time to prepare for obstructing them. 
Instead of that, they have only advanced to a position 
necessary to facilitate an attack on our right, the part 
in which we are most exposed. In addition to this 
circumstance, they have come out as light as possible ; 
leaving all their beggage, provisions, boats, and bridges 
at Brunswick. This plainly contradicts the idea of 
their intending to push for the Delaware." 

When the British army was collected at Brunswick, 
General Washington knowing that the Highlands 
on the Hudson were not exposed, while the enemy 
held that position, ordered a large detachment from 
Peck's Kill to Middlebrook, and he determined to 
defend himself in this post. 

Finding that his opponent could not be manoeuvred 
out of his fortified camp, the British commander 
drew back his troops to Staten Island, with the design 
to embark them for the Delaware or the Chesapeake. 



i 777 .] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. i 4 i 

While these manoeuvres were displaying in New 
Jersey, intelligence was received, that General Bur- 
goyne, with a powerful body of troops, was on the 
lakes, approaching Ticonderoga. General Washing- 
ton immediately forwarded large reinforcements to 
the northern army. 

Soon after the British transports sailed out of the 
harbor of New York, an intercepted letter from 
General Howe to General Burgoyne was put into the 
hands of the Commander-in-Chief, which contained 
the information that, " he was exhibiting the appear- 
ance of moving to the southward, while his real 
intent was against Boston, from whence he would 
co-operate with the army of Canada." General 
Washington viewing this letter as a finesse, paid no 
regard to it. 

The policy of co-operating on the North river with 
the army of Canada was so evident to the military 
mind of the General, that he conceived the movement 
of Howe to be a feint, designed to draw away the 
American army, that the British forces might suddenly 
ascend the Hudson, and seize the passes in the moun- 
tains ; he therefore moved his troops to the neighbor- 
hood of those heights, and there waited the issue of Sir 
William's manoeuvre. 

When the apprehension of a sudden attack upon 
the American works on the North river was removed 
by the length of time Sir Williamjrtowe had been at 
sea, General Washington marched his army by divi- 
sions to places which he thought the most favorable 
to defend points the enemy might attack. 

While waiting the evolution of the enemy's plan of 
the campaign, General Washington surveyed the 
ground in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, that he 



I4 2 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 

might be thoroughly acquainted with the probable 
scene of approaching military operations. On a critical 
examination of the fortifications on the Deleware, he 
advised Congress to confine the defence of the river to 
Mud Island and Red Bank, because the force for 
defence collected at these points, would produce more 
effect than it could divided upon different parts of the 
river. 

The American army remained quietly in its position 
until the 21st of August. By this time General 
Washington apprehended that General Howe had 
proceeded to Charleston, South Carolina, and he 
knew that the attempt to follow him to that place 
would be useless. He therefore resolved to move his 
army to the North river, to assail the enemy at New 
York, or to join the northern army and oppose Bur- 
goyne. But on the very day on which orders to this 
purpose were issued, intelligence reached him that Sir 
William had entered the Chesapeake, and was approach- 
ing its head. He had spent more than twenty days 
in his passage, and on the 25th of August landed 
without opposition at Turkey Point, in Maryland. 
His force amounted to eighteen thousand men, abun- 
dantly furnished with every article of warfare. 

As soon as General Washington was apprised of 
the destination of the British General, he put his army 
in motion to meet him. He marched through Phila- 
delphia, that a sigjit of his forces might make im- 
pressions on the minds of those citizens who were 
hostile to the American cause. The effective force of 
General Washington did not exceed eleven thousand 
men. The militia, on this occasion, turned out in 
considerable numbers, but the want of arms rendered 
the services of many of them useless. 



i 777 .] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. I43 

On the 3rd of September, the hostile armies 
approached each other. General Washington, not 
being in force to contend with his foe in the open 
field, could only harass his line of march, with light 
troops and cavalry, and pick up stragglers from his 
camp. As the Royal troops advanced, Sir William 
manoeuvred to gain the right wing of the American 
army. General Washington, to counteract his design, 
continued to fall back until he crossed the Brandy wine 
river at Chadd's Ford. Here he made a stand to dis- 
pute its passage by the British. 

The opinion of Congress, and the general sentiment 
of the country, imposed on the General the necessity 
of hazarding general action at this place, for the 
defence of Philadelphia. 

Early in the morning, information was 
Sept. h brought to the Commander-in-Chief that the 
British army was advancing on the road to Chadd's 
Ford, and he immediately prepared to dispute the 
passage of the river. By ten o'clock the light troops 
were driven over the river to the main body of the 
American army, and it was every moment expected 
that the German General Knyphausen would attempt 
to force a passage. About noon, intelligence was 
communicated to the General, that a large column of 
the enemy, with a number of field pieces, had marched 
up the country, and fallen into the road which crosses 
the Brandywine above its forks. 

Satisfied of the correctness of this intelligence, he 
detached the right wing of his army to attack the left 
of this column, as it marched down the north side of 
the Brandywine, intending himself, with the centre 
and left wing, to recross the river, and attack the 
division of the enemy at Chadd's Ford. While issuing 



I44 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 

orders for the execution of this daring plan, the first 
intelligence was contradicted, and the General was 
informed that the movement of the column towards 
the forks was a feint, and that instead of crossing the 
river at that place, it had rejoined the German troops 
at Chadd's Ford. Under the uncertainty, which this 
contradictory intelligence produced, the General pru- 
dently relinquished his design. 

About two o'clock it was ascertained that Sir Wil- 
liam Howe in person had crossed the Brandywine at 
the forks, and was rapidly marching down the north 
side of the river, to attack the American army. The 
Commander-in Chief now ordered General Sullivan 
to form the right wing to oppose the column of Sir 
William. General Wayne was directed to remain at 
Chadd's Ford with the left wing, to dispute the 
passage of the river with Knyphausen. General 
Green, with his division, was posted as a reserve in 
the centre between Sullivan and Wayne, to reinforce 
either, as circumstances might require. General 
Sullivan marched up the river, until he found favorable 
ground on which to form his men ; his left was near 
the Brandywine, and both flanks were covered with 
thick wood. At half-past four o'clock, when his line 
was scarcely formed, the British, under Lord Corn- 
wallis, commenced a spirited attack. The action was 
for some time severe ; but the American right which 
was not properly in order when the assault began, at 
length gave way, and exposed the flank of the troops 
that maintained their ground, to a destructive fire, and 
continuing to break from the right, the whole line 
finally gave way. 

As soon as the firing began, General Washington, 
with General Green's division, hastened towards the 



I777J LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 145 

scene of action, but before his arrival, Sullivan was 
routed, and the Commander-in-Chief could only check 
the pursuit of the enemy, and covered the retreat of 
the beaten troops. 

During these transactions General Knyphausen 
assaulted the works erected for the defence of Chadd's 
Ford, and soon carried them. General Wayne, by 
this time learning the fate of the other divisions, drew 
off his troops. General Washington retreated, with 
his whole force that night to Chester. The American 
loss in this battle was about three hundred killed, and 
six hundred wounded. Four hundred were made 
prisoners, but these chiefly of the wounded. 

Many of the regiments of infantry, and the whole 
corps of artillery, on this occasion, exhibited the firm- 
ness and persevering courage that would have honored 
veteran troops. A few corps gave way as soon as 
pressed by the enemy, and their deficiency exposed 
those who bravely did their duty. General Howe 
stated his loss, in this action, at one hundred killed 
and four hundred wounded. In this battle, Marquis 
La Fayette, who had recently joined the American 
army, was wounded. 

The defeat of Brandywine produced no depression 
of spirits upon Congress, the army, or the country. 
Measures were immediately taken to reinforce the 
army. Fifteen hundred men were marched from 
Peck's Kill, and large detachments of militia ordered 
into the field. The Commander-in-Chief was em- 
powered to impress all horses, wagons, and provisions, 
necessary for the army. In orders, the general ex- 
pressed his high satisfaction at the behavior of the 
body of his army in the late engagement. Having 
allowed his troops a short repose, he faced about to 

10 



I4 6 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 

meet the enemy, fully resolved to try his fortune in a 
general action, before he resigned Philadelphia to the 
Royal commander. 

General Washington, perceiving that the 
Sept. 15. enemy were moving into the Lancaster road, 
towards the city, took possession of ground 
near the Warren tavern, on the left of the British, 
and twenty-three miles from Philadelphia. The pro- 
tection of his stores at Reading was one object of 
this movement. The next morning he was informed 
of the approach of the British army. He immedi- 
ately put his troops in motion to engage the enemy. 
The advance of the two hostile armies met and began 
to skirmish, when rain fell, and soon increased to a 
violent storm. This providentially prevented a gen- 
eral engagement, and rendered the retreat of the 
Americans absolutely necessary. The inferiority of 
the muskets in the hands of the American soldierv 
which had been verified in every action, was strik- 
ingly illustrated in this retreat. The gun-locks were 
badly made, and the cartridge-boxes imperfectly 
constructed, and this storm rendered most of the 
•arms unfit for us.e, and all the ammunition was dam- 
aged. The army was of consequence extremely ex- 
posed, and their danger became the greater, as many 
of the soldiers were destitute of bayonets. Fortun- 
ately the tempest, which produced such serious mis- 
chief to the Americans, prevented the pursuit of the 
British. 

General Washington, finding his troops unfitted 
for action, relinquished, from necessity, the immediate 
intention of a battle, and continued his retreat through 
the day, and most of the night, amidst a cold and tem- 
pestuous rain, and in very deep roads. On a full dis- 



r 7 77-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. I47 

covery of the extent of the damage to the arms and 
ammunition, the General ascended the Schuylkill, and 
crossed it at Warwick furnace, to obtain a fresh sup- 
ply of ammunition, and to refit or replace the defective 
muskets. He still resolved to risk a general engage- 
ment, for the safety of the capital. He re- 
crossed the Schuylkill at Parker's ferry, and Sept. 19. 
encamped east of that river, on both sides of 
Parkyomy creek, and detachments were posted at the 
different fords, at which the enemy might attempt to 
force a passage. As the British army approached the 
river, General Washington posted his army in their 
front ; but, instead of forcing a passage, Sir William 
moved rapidly up the road towards Reading. The 
American commander, supposing that his object was 
to destroy the military stores at that place, and to 
turn the right flank of the American army, marched 
up the river to Pottsgrove, leaving the lower road to 
the city open to his antagonist. Sir William Howe 
availed himself of the opportunity, and on the 26th 
entered Philadelphia in triumph. 

General Washington had seasonably taken the 

j 

precaution to remove the public stores from the city, 
and to secure for the use of the army those articles 
of merchandise which their wants rendered of pri- 
mary necessity. Colonel Hamilton, then one of Gen- 
eral Washington's aids, had been sent into the city 
on this important business. By his instructions he 
was directed to proceed in his requisitions upon the 
stores and shops of Philadelphia cautiously but effec- 
tually. "Your own prudence will point out the least 
exceptional means to be pursued, but remember deli- 
cacy and a strict adherence to the ordinary mode of 
application must give place to our necessities. We 



I4 8 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 

must, if possible, accommodate the soldiers with such 
articles as they stand in need of ; or we shall have 
just reason to apprehend the most injurious and 
alarming consequences from the approaching sea- 
son." 

From the landing of the British army at the head 
of the Elk, on the 25th of August, to the 26th of 
September, when they entered Philadelphia, the 
American troops had encountered a continued series 
of active operations, and the duty of the General was 
complicated and arduous. During this time, the sol- 
diers were destitute of baggage, insufficiently supplied 
with provisions, and deprived of the comforts that ad- 
minister to the support of the human frame under se- 
vere fatigue. Without covering, they were exposed 
to heavy rains, and obliged to march, many of them 
without shoes, in deep roads, and to ford considerable 
streams. 

The best British writers, who have given us a his- 
tory of the revolutionary war, highly applaud the gen- 
eralship of Sir William Howe in this part of the 
campaign. Can they then withhold applause from 
the American commander, who manoeuvred an in- 
ferior army in the face of the British general, and de- 
tained him thirty days, in marching sixty miles, from 
the head of Elk river to Philadelphia, in a country in 
which there was not one fortified post, nor a stream 
that might not, at this season, be everywhere forded ; 
who fought one battle, and although beaten, in five 
days again faced his enemy with the intention to risk 
a general engagement ; who, when in the moment of 
action, was providentially obliged to retreat, with 
muskets and ammunition unfit for use, extricated him- 
self from his perilous situation, and once more placed 



I777-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. I49 

himself in front of the invading foe ; who at last was 
induced to open the Philadelphia road to the British 
general, not because he was beaten in the field, but 
through the influence of circumstances, which no 
military address could counteract. 

Four regiments of grenadiers were posted in Phila- 
delphia, and the other corps of the British army were 
cantoned at Germantown. The first object of Sir 
William was to subdue the defences and remove the 
impediments of the Delaware, that a communication 
might be opened with the British shipping. General 
Washington made every effort to prevent the exe- 
cution of the enemy's design, in the hope of forcing 
General Howe out of Philadelphia, by preventing sup- 
plies of provisions from reaching him. Of the at- 
tainment of this important object he had no doubt, 
could the passage of the Delaware be rendered im- 
practicable. To this purpose works had been erected 
on a bank of mud and sand in the river, near the 
confluence of the Schuylkill, and about seven miles 
below Philadelphia. The place, from these works, 
was denominated Fort Island, and the works them- 
selves Fort Mifflin. On a neck of land on the oppo- 
site shore of New Jersey, called Red Bank, a fort was 
constructed and mounted with heavy artillery, and 
called Fort Mercer. Fort Island and Red Bank were 
distant from each other half a mile. In the channel 
of the Delaware, which ran between them, two ranges 
of chevaux-de-frise were sunk. These consisted of 
large pieces of timber, strongly framed together, and 
pointed with iron, and they completely obstructed the 
passage of ships. These works were covered by sev- 
eral galleys, floating batteries, and armed ships. 

Sir William Howe having detached a considerable 



1S o LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 

force from Germantown to operate against the works 
on the Delaware, General Washington thought this 
a favorable opportunity to attack the British army in 
their cantonments. The line of the British encamp- 
ment crossed the village of Germantown at right an- 
gles, near its centre ; and its flanks were strongly 
covered. 

General Washington now commanded a force con- 
sisting of about eight thousand Continental troops and 
three thousand militia. The General's plan was to 
attack both wings of the enemy in front and rear at 
the same time. The arrangements having been made, 
the army was moved near the scene of action on the 
evening of the 4th of October. The divisions of Sul- 
livan and Wayne, flanked by Conway's brigade, were 
to enter Germantown by the way of Chestnut Hill, 
and attack the left wing of the British. General Arm- 
strong with the Pennsylvania militia was ordered to 
fall down the Manatawny road, and turning the British 
left flank, attack its rear. The divisions of Green and 
Stephen, flanked by M'Dougal's brigade, were to take 
a circuit by the way of Limekiln road, and entering at 
the market-house, attack the right wing. The militia 
of Maryland and New Jersey, under General Small- 
wood and General Forman, were to march down the 
old York road, and fall upon the rear of the British 
right. The division of Lord Sterling, and the bri- 
gades of Nash and Maxwell were to form a corps de 
reserve. 

About sunrise the next morning, the front 
Oct. 8. of General Sullivan's column, which the Com- 
mander-in-Chief accompanied, drove in the 
British piquet at Mount Airy. The main body of 
this division soon engaged the British light infantry 



1777-3 LIFE 0F WASHINGTON. l $ 1 

and the fortieth regiment of foot, and obliged them to 
give way, leaving all their baggage behind. General 
Green in half an hoar after Sullivan reached the 
ground of action, attacked and drove in the troops in 
front of the right wing of the enemy. Several bri- 
gades of Sullivan's and of Green's divisions penetrated 
the town. The enemy appeared to be surprised, and 
a fair prospect of eventual success in the assault 
presented itself to the mind of the American Gen- 
eral. 

The flattering expectations, which the successful 
commencement of the enterprise excited, were soon 
succeeded by disappointment and mortification. As 
the British retreated before General Sullivan's divi. 
sion, Colonel Musgrave took post with six companies 
of light troops in a stone house, from which he se- 
verely galled the Americans in their advance. At- 
tempts were made to dislodge him, but they proved 
ineffectual, and the American line was checked and 
thrown into disorder. The morning being extremely 
foggy, the Americans could neither perceive the situa- 
tion of the enemy, nor take advantage of their own 
success. The ground to which some of the British 
corps was pursued had many enclosures, which broke 
the American line of march, and some of the regi- 
ments, in their ardor to push forward, separated from 
their brigades, were surrounded and taken prisoners. 
In the moment of supposed victory, the troops re- 
treated, and the efforts of their Generals to rally them 
were fruitless. The militia were never seriously 
brought into action. General Washington, perceiv- 
ing that victory had, on this occasion, eluded his 
grasp, contented himseJf with a safe and honorable 
retreat. 



IS 2 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 

In this bold assault, two hundred Americans were 
killed, six hundred wounded, and four hundred taken 
prisoners. Among the killed was Brigadier-General 
Nash. The British loss was one hundred killed and 
four hundred wounded. Among the killed were Bri- 
gadier Agnew and Colonel Bird. This enterprise, as 
far as the Commander-in-Chief was concerned in it, 
was honorable. Its ultimate failure must be attributed 
to the want of discipline and experience in his men. 
Congress fully approved of the plan of this assault, 
and applauded the courage displayed in its execution. 
They voted their thanks to the General, and to the 
army. 

The works in the Delaware now engaged the atten- 
tion of the British and American generals. Sir 
William Howe broke up his encampment at German- 
town, and moved his whole army into Philadelphia 
General Washington placed confidential garrisons in 
Fort Mercer at Red Bank, and in Fort Mifflin on 
Mud Island, but he had not a force equal to their com- 
plete defence. He appointed detachments to inter- 
cept the transportation of provisions from the British 
ships below the American works to Philadelphia. He 
called upon the Government of New Jersey to turn out 
the militia of that State, to form a camp in the rear of 
Red Bank ; and he set patrols of militia on the roads 
leading to Philadelphia, both in Pennsylvania and 
New Jersey, to prevent the disaffected inhabitants 
from carrying their articles into the market of Phila- 
delphia. To avail himself of any favorable opportu- 
nity to annoy the enemy, he moved his army to White 
Marsh, distant only fifteen miles from the city. 

Lord Howe, by continued exertion, having over- 
come the obstructions which the Americans had 



I777-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. ^3 

placed in the river at Billingsport, a joint attack by 
sea and land was planned against Red Bank and Fort 
Island. The Augusta, a sixty-four gun ship, the Mer- 
lin frigate, and several small armed vessels moved up 
the Delaware to assault the works on Fort or Mud 
Island. Count Donop crossed into New Jersey with 
twelve hundred Germans, and in the evening of the 
22d appeared before Fort Mercer, on Red 
Bank. His assault was highly spirited, and Oct. 22. 
the defence intrepid and obstinate. Colonel 
Green, the commandant, whose garrison did not ex- 
ceed five hundred men, was unable to man the out- 
works. From these he galled the Germans in their 
advance, and on their near approach he quitted them, 
and retired within the inner retrenchments. The 
enemy pressed forward with undaunted bravery, and 
the Americans poured upon them a deadly fire. 
Count Donop was himself mortally wounded at the 
head of his gallant corps ; the second in command 
soon after fell, and the third immediately drew off his 
forces. 

The assailants had four hundred men killed and 
wounded. The garrison, fighting under cover, had 
only thirty killed and wounded. Had the camp of 
militia been formed in the rear of Red Bank, agree- 
ably to General Washington's desire, this whole 
corps would probably have been made prisoners. 

In the mean time, Fort Mifflin was attacked by the 
shipping, and by batteries erected on the Pennsyl- 
vania shore. Incessant vollies of bombs and cannon 
balls were discharged upon it. But at ebb tide tne 
Augusta and Merlin grounded, and were burnt. The 
garrison supported this tremendous fire without ma- 
terial injury. 



IS4 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 

The resistance of the forts on the Delaware far ex- 
ceeding the expectations of the British commanders, 
they adopted measures to overcome it, without the 
hazard of a second assault. They erected batteries 
upon Province Island, within five hundred yards of 
the American fort. They also brought up their ship- 
ping, gunboats, &c, and from the 10th to the 16th of 
November, battered the American works. By this 
time the defences were entirely beaten down, every 
piece of cannon was dismounted, and one of the ships 
approached so near Fort Mifflin as to throw hand 
grenades from her tops into it, which killed men upon 
the platform. The brave garrison received orders to 
quit the post. Red Bank being no longer useful, its 
garrison and stores were also withdrawn on the ap- 
proach of Lord Cornwallis with five thousand men to 
invest it. 

While these transactions were going on, the enter- 
prising spirit of the Commander-in-Chief was em- 
ployed to explore an opening through which to attack 
his adversary. He clearly saw the importance of 
driving the British from Province Island ; but fifteen 
hundred men, in the opinion of his general officers, 
were necessary to effect this object. This detach- 
ment could reach the place of assault only by march- 
ing down a neck of land six miles in length almost in 
sight of the British General, who might easily cut off 
the retreat of the American detachment, unless it 
should be protected by a strong covering party To 
furnish this party, General Washington must expose 
his army with all his stores and artillery to Sir Wil 
ham. Or, if he moved his whole army over the 
Schuylkill, all the magazines and hospitals in his 
rear might without opposition be seized. Red Bank 



1777-1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. ISS 

would also be exposed, through which reinforcements 
of men and supplies of ammunition and provisions 
passed to Fort Island. He was therefore constrained 
to watch the progress of his enemy, without making 
efficient attempts to check him. 

The fortifications of the Delaware being sur- 
mounted, the impediments in the channel of the river 
were, without great difficulty, removed. In six weeks 
of incessant effort, the British commanders gained 
the free navigation of the Delaware, and opened the 
communication between their fleet and army. 

During the excursion of Lord Cornwailis into New 
Jersey, with a design to invest Fort Mercer, General 
Washington was urged to attack Philadelphia. The 
wishes of Congress, and the expectation of the public, 
gave weight to the proposed measure. The plan was 
that General Green should silently fail down the Del- 
aware, at a specified time, attack the rear of General 
Howe, and gain possession of the bridge over the 
Schuylkill; that a powerful force should march down 
on the west side of that river, and from the heights en- 
filade the British works on that side, while the Com- 
mander-in-Chief, with the main body of the arm v. 
should attack fourteen redoubts, and the lines of the 
enemy extending from the Delaware to the Schuylkill, 
which constituted their defence in front. 

The sound mind of General Washington was not 
so much dazzled by a prospect of the brilliance and 
fame which the success of this enterprise would throw 
around himself and his army, as to engage in the des- 
perate attempt. Nor was he disposed to sacrifice the 
safety of his country upon the altar of public opinion. 
He gave the following reasons for rejecting the plan : 
that the army in Philadelphia was in number at least 



IS 6 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 

equal to his own ; it could not reasonably be expected 
that the several corps engaged could co-operate in 
that joint and prompt manner, which was necessary 
to success ; in all probability the movement of Gen- 
eral Green could not be made in the face of a vigilant 
enemy without discovery, which was essential — if 
the several divisions were in the onset successful, the 
redoubts taken, the lines surmounted, and the British 
army driven within the city, the assault then must be 
extremely hazardous ; an artillery superior to their 
own would be planted to play upon the front of the 
assailing columns, and the brick houses would be lined 
with a formidable infantry to thin their flanks ; a de- 
feat, which, calculating upon the scale of probability 
must be expected, would ruin the army, and open the 
country to the depredation of the enemy ; the hardy 
enterprises and stubborn conflicts of two campaigns 
had given the British general only the command of 
two or three towns, protected in a great measure by 
the shipping, why then forego the advantage of con- 
fining the British army in narrow quarters, to place 
the stores in camp, and the very independence of 
America at risk upon this forlorn hope. The General 
was supported in his opinion by those officers in 
whose judgment he placed the most confidence, and 
he disregarded the clamors of ignorance and rash- 
ness. 

On the 4th of December, Sir William Howe 
marched his whole army out of Philadelphia to White 
Marsh, the encampment of General Washington. 
He took a position on Chestnut Hill in front of the 
American right wing. Mr. Stedman, a British his- 
torian of the revolutionary war, who at this time was 
with Sir William, states his force at fourteen thousand 



1777-3 L I FE OF WASHINGTON. IS7 

men. The Continental troops at White Marsh 
amounted to about twelve thousand, and the militia 
to three. The ground of the Americans was strong, 
but no fortifications had been erected. Never be- 
fore had General Washington met his enemy in this 
manner, with a superiority of numbers. He w r ished 
to be attacked, but was not disposed to relinquish the 
advantage of ground. 

The British commander spent the 6th in recon- 
noitring the American right. At night he marched 
to their left on the hill, which here approached nearer 
to their camp, and took a good position within a mile 
of it. The next day he advanced further to the 
American left, and in doing it approached still nearer 
this wing. General Washington made some changes 
in the disposition of his troops, to oppose with a 
greater force the attack he confidently expected on 
his left. Momentarily expecting the assault, he rode 
through each brigade of the army with perfect com- 
posure, giving his orders, animating his men to do 
their duty to their country, and exhorting them to de- 
pend principally on the bayonet. During these ma- 
noeuvers, some sharp skirmishing took place. At 
evening the disposition of General Howe indicated 
the design t j attack the next morning. The Ameri- 
can commander impatiently waited the assault, prom- 
ising himself some compensation for the disasters of 
the campaign in the issue of the battle. But his 
hopes were disappointed. On the afternoon of the 
8th, Sir William returned to Philadelphia with such 
rapidity as not to be overtaken by the American 
light troops which were sent out harass his rear. 

Sir William Howe moved out of Philadelphia with 
a professed design to attack General Washington, 



IS 8 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777 

and to drive him over the mountain. Ke must have 
felt mortification in receding from this intention, and 
by it acknowledge, in the face of the world, the re- 
spect he entertained for the military talents of his 
opponent, and proclaiming his reluctance to engage 
an American army of equal numbers, unless he could 
command the ground of action. 

The American troops were badly clothed, and were 
generally destitute of blankets. The winter setting 
in with severity, it became necessary to lodge them in 
winter-quarters. The General had revolved the sub- 
ject in his mind, and weighed all its difficulties. 
Should he quarter his army in villages, his men 
would be exposed to the destructive enterprises of 
partisan British corps, and a large district of country 
would be opened to the forage of the enemy. To 
remedy these dangers and inconveniences, the Gen- 
eral resolved to march his army to Valley Forge, a 
strong position back of Philadelphia, covered with 
wood, and there shelter them. On the march to the 
place, for the first time the disposition for the winter 
was announced. He applauded the past fortitude of 
the army, and exorted them to bear their approach- 
ing hardships with the resolution of soldiers, assur- 
ing them that the public good, and not his inclina- 
tion, imposed them. The men bore their temporary 
sufferings with patience. They felled trees, and of 
logs built themselves huts, closing their crevices with 
mortar, and soon assumed the form, and order of an 
encampment. Light troops were stationed around 
Philadelphia to straiten the enemy's quarters, and to 
cut off their communication with those of the country 
who were disposed to supply them with provision. 

On the 22(1 of December the commissary announced 



T777-1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 

the alarming fact, that the last rations in store had 
been served to the troops. A small number of the 
men discovered a disposition to mutiny at a privation 
for which they could not account but in the criminal 
nattention of their country ; but the majority of the 
*rmy submitted to the scarcity without a murmur 
General Washington ordered the country to be 
scoured, and provisions to be seized wherever they 
could be found. At the same time he stated the situ- 
ation of the army to Congress, and warned that body 
of the dangerous consequences of this mode of ob- 
taining supplies. It was calculated, he said, to ruin 
the discipline of the soldiers, and to raise in them a 
disposition for plunder and licentiousness. It must 
create in the minds of the inhabitants jealousy and 
dissatisfaction. "I regret the occasion which com- 
pelled me to the measure the other day, and shall 
consider it among the greatest of our misfortunes to 
be under the necessity of practicing it again. I am 
now obliged to keep several parties from the army 
threshing grain, that our supplies may not fail, but 
this will not do." During the whole winter the suf- 
ferings of the troops at Valley Forge were extreme. 



160 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [i 777 . 



CHAPTER V. 

Progress and Issue of the Northern Campaign — Plan to dis. 
place General Washington — His Correspondence on the Sub* 
ject — Letter of General Gates — Remonstrance of the Legis- 
lature of Pennsylvania against closing the Campaign — Obser- 
vations of the Commander-in-Chief upon it — Sufferings of the 
Army for the want of Provisions and Clothing — Measures 
adopted by the Commander-in-Chief to obtain supplies — 
Methods taken to Recruit the Army — Sir Henry Clinton ap- 
pointed Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces — He evacu- 
ates Philadelphia, and marches through New Jersey to New 
York — General Washington pursues him — Battle of Mon- 
mouth — Thanks of Congress to the General and Army — Gen- 
eral Lee censured — He demands a Court Martial, and is sus- 
pended from his Command — French fleet appears on the 
American Coast — Expedition against Rhode Island — It fails 
— Disaffection between the American and French Officers — 
Measures of the Commander-in-Chiet to prevent the ill-con- 
sequences of it — Army goes into Winter-quarters in the High- 
lands. 

1777. During these transactions in the middle 
States, the northern campaign had terminated in the 
capture of General Burgoyne and army. That de- 
partment had ever been considered as a separate com- 
mand, and more particularly under the direction of 
Congress. But the opinion of the Commander-in- 
Chief had been consulted in many of its transactions, 
and most of its details had passed through his hands. 
Through him that army had been supplied with the 
greater part of its artillery, ammunition, and pro- 
visions. 

Upon the loss of Ticonderoga, and the disastrous 
events which followed it, he exerted himself to stop 



I777-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. !6i 

the career of General Burgoyne 5 although by this ex 
ertion he weakened himself in his conflict with Sir 
William Howe. Without waiting for the order of 
Congress, in his own name he called out the militia of 
New England, and directed General Lincoln to com- 
mand them. Strong detachments were sent to the 
northward from his own army. General Arnold, who 
had already greatly distinguished himself in the field, 
was sent at the head of these reinforcements, in the 
expectation that his influence would do much to re- 
animate the northern forces, and inspirit them to 
noble exertions. Soon after, Colonel Morgan with his 
regiment, the best partisan corps in the American 
army, was also detached to that service. General 
Washington encouraged General Schuyler to look 
forward to brighter fortune. " The evacuation of 
Ticonderoga and Mount Independence/' said he, in a 
letter to that general, " is an event of chagrin and 
surprise, not apprehended, nor within the compass of 
my reasoning. This stroke is severe indeed, and has 
distressed us much. But notwithstanding things at 
present wear a dark and gloomy aspect, I hope a spir- 
ited opposition will check the progress of General 
Burgoyne's arms, and that the confidence derived 
from success will hurry him into measures that will 
in their consequences be favorable to us. We should 
never despair. Our situation has before been un- 
promising, but has changed for the better, so I trust 
it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only 
put forth new exertions, and proportion our efforts to 
the exigency of the times." When informed by Gen- 
eral Schuyler that Burgoyne had divided his force to 
act in different quarters, General Washington fore- 
saw the consequences, and advised the measures 

ii 



162 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1777. 



that proved fatal to that commander. Although 
our affairs/' replied he to General Schuyler, u have 
some days past worn a dark and gloomy aspect, I yet 
look forward to a fortunate and happy issue. I trust 
General Burgoyne's army will sooner or later experi- 
ence an effectual check ; and, as I suggested before, 
that the success he had will precipitate his ruin. 
From your account he appears to be pursuing that 
line of conduct which of all others is most favorable 
to us, I mean acting by detachments. This conduct 
will certainly give room for enterprise on our part, 
and expose his parties to great hazard. Could we be 
so happy as to cut one of them off, though it should 
not exceed four, five, or six hundred men, it would in- 
spirit the people, and do away much of their present 
anxiety. In such an event, they would lose sight of 
past misfortunes ; and, urged at the same time by a 
regard to their own security, they would fly to arms 
and afford every aid in their power." 

The community was not intimately acquainted with 
the state of things in the northern department. In 
consequence, strong prejudices were excited against 
General Schuyler. On account of this popular preju- 
dice, Congress conceived it prudent to change the 
general of this army, and the Commander-in-Chief 
was requested to nominate a successor to General 
Schuyler, Through delicacy he declined this nomi- 
nation ; but never did the semblance of envy at the 
good fortune of General Gates, whom Congress ap- 
pointed, appear in any part of General Washington's 
conduct. His patriotism induced him to aid this 
subordinate general by every means m his power, 
and the successes of the northern army filled his heart 
with undissembled joy. 



I777-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. j^,^ 

This magnanimity was not in every instance re- 
paid. The brilliant issue of the northern campaign 
in 1777 cast a glory around General Gates, and ex- 
alted his military reputation. During his separate 
command, some parts of his conduct did not corre- 
spond with the ingenuousness and delicacy with 
which he had been treated by the Commander-in- 
Chief. After the action of the 19th of September, 
when it was ascertained that General Gates's force 
was superior to that of the British general, and was 
increasing, General Washington apprehended that 
General Gates might return him Colonel Morgan's 
corps, whose services he greatly needed while the 
enemy was marching through Pennsylvania. But un- 
willing absolutely to order the return of Morgan, he 
stated that General Howe was pressing him with a 
superior force, and left General Gates to act in the 
concern according to his discretion. General Gates 
retained the corps, and mentioned, as his reason : 
"Since the action of the 19th the enemy have kept 
the ground they occupied on the morning of that day 
and fortified their camp. The advance sentries of 
my piquets are posted within shot, and opposite those 
of the enemy. Neither side has given ground an 
inch. In this situation your Excellency would not 
wish me to part with the corps the army of General 
Burgoyne is most afraid of." He neglected to inform 
the Commander-in-Chief of his subsequent successes 
over the enemy. 

When the intelligence of the surrender of the Brit- 
ish army reached head-quarters, the Commander-in- 
Chief dispatched Colonel Hamilton, one of his aids, 
to General Gates, to state his own critical situation, 
and make known his earnest wishes, that reinforce- 



^4 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 

ments should be forwarded to him with the utmost 
expedition. Colonel Hamilton found that General 
Gates had retained four brigades at Albany with a 
design to attack Ticonderoga in the course of the 
next winter. With difficulty and delay he obtained 
an order to move three brigades. 

Colonel Hamilton was also charged with a similar 
message to General Putnam in the Highlands, and 
directed to accelerate the movement of reinforcements 
from that post. But General Putnam, in view of an 
attempt upon New York, discovered a disposition to 
retain under his command that portion of the northern 
army which had been sent to the Highlands. Colo- 
nel Hamilton was obliged to borrow 7 money of General 
Clinton, Governor of the State of New York, to fit 
the troops of General Putnam to begin their march. 
These obstructions and delays in the execution of 
General Washington's orders, prevented his being 
reinforced in season to attack Lord Cornwallis while 
in New Jersey, and probably occasioned the loss of 
Fort Mifflin and Red Bank. 

The different termination of the campaigns of 1777 
at the north and in the Middle States, furnished the 
ignorant and factious part of the community with an 
opportunity to clamor against the Commander-in- 
Chief. Their murmurs emboldened several members 
of Congress, and individual gentlemen in different 
parts of the United States, to adopt measures to sup- 
plant General Washington, and to raise General 
Gates to the supreme command of the American 
armies. 

In the prosecution of this scheme, pieces artfully 
written were published in newspapers in different 
places, tending to lessen the military character of 



i 777 .] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 165 

General Washington, and to prepare the public for 
the contemplated ch. nge in the head of the military de- 
partment. Generals Gates and Mifflin, and Brigadier 
Conway, entered into the intrigue. Conway was an 
Irishman, who had been in the service of France, and 
on the recommendation of Mr. Silas Deane was com- 
missioned by Congress. The influence of the party 
in Congress opposed to General Washington, appears 
by a number of the public transactions of that body. 
A board of war was instituted, and General Gates 
placed at its head ; Conway was raised over every other 
brigadier, and appointed inspector of the army. 

These machinations to tarnish the character of the 
Commander-in-Chief were known to him, but he si- 
lently noticed their operation. The good of his country 
was with him paramount to all other considerations, 
and he stifled his just indignation and left his reputa- 
tion to rest on his own merits, lest the open dissen- 
sion of the civil and military ministers of the revo- 
lution should endanger the public interest. 

At length, the presumption of his enemies forced 
him into an expression of his feelings on the subject. 
The following correspondences give a general view 
of the progress of their measures. Mr. Lawrence, 
President of Congress, in a private letter, communi- 
cated to the General information of an anonymous 
complaint laid before him, in his official capacity, con- 
taining high charges against General Washington, 
to which he replied : — 

" I cannot sufficiently express the obligation I feel 
towards you, for friendship and politeness upon an 
occasion in which I am so deeply interested. I was 
not unapprised that a malignant faction had been for 
some time forming, to my prejudice, which, conscious 



166 LIFE OF WASHINGTON [1777 

as I am of having ever done all in my power to an- 
swer the important purposes of the trust reposed in 
me, could not but give, me some pain on a personal ac- 
count ; but my chief concern arises from an appre- 
hension of the dangerous consequences which in- 
testine dissensions may produce to the common cause. 

" As I have no other view than to promote the pub- 
lic good, and am unambitious of honors not founded 
on the approbation of my country, I would not desire 
in the least degree to suppress a free spirit of inquiry 
into any part of my conduct, that even faction itself 
may deem reprehensible. The anonymous paper 
handed you exhibits many serious charges, and it is 
my wish that it may be submitted to Congress. This 
I am more inclined to, as the suppression, or conceal- 
ment, may possibly involve you in embarrassments 
hereafter, since it is uncertain how many, or who, may 
be privy to the contents. 

" My enemies take an ungenerous advantage of me 
They know the delicacy of my situation, and that mo- 
tives of policy deprive me of the defence I might 
otherwise make against their insidious attacks. They 
know I cannot combat their insinuations, however in- 
jurious, without disclosing secrets it is of the utmost 
moment to conceal. But why should I expect to be 
exempt from censure, the unfailing lot of an elevated 
station ? Merit and talents, which I cannot pretend to 
rival, have ever been subject to it. My heart tells me 
it has been my unremitted aim to do the best which 
circumstances would permit ; yet I may have been 
very often mistaken in my judgment of the means, 
and may, in many instances, deserve the imputation 
of error." 

To a friend in New England, who expressed by let- 



1777-1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. x 6 7 

ter his anxiety in consequence of a report that he was 
about to resign his commission, he wrote : — 

" I can assure you that no person ever heard me 
drop an expression that had a tendency to resigna- 
tion. The same principles that led me to embark in 
the opposition to the arbitrary claims of Great Britain, 
operate with additional force at this day ; nor is it my 
desire to withdraw my services while they are consid- 
ered of importance in the present contest; but to 
report a design of this kind is among the arts, which 
those who are endeavoring to effect a change, are prac- 
ticing to bring it to pass. I have said, and I still do 
say, that there is not an officer in the service of the 
United States, that would return to the sweets of do- 
mestic life with more heartfelt joy than I should. 
But I would have this declaration accompanied by 
these sentiments, that while the public are satisfied 
with my endeavors, I mean not to shrink from the 
cause ; but the moment her voice, not that of faction, 
calls upon me to resign, I shall do it with as much 
pleasure as ever the wearied traveller retired to rest" 

His friend Mr. Patrick Henry, then Governor of 
Virginia, informed him of the intrigues that were go- 
ing on in his native State. To which he replied : — 

94 The anonymous letter with which you were pleased 
to favor me, was written by ******** S o far as I can 
judge from the similitude of hands. 

% %s 4& ^6 iff 

" My caution to avoid anything that could injure the 
service, prevented me from communicating, except 
to a very few of my friends, the intrigues of a fac- 
tion which I knew was formed against me, since it 
might serve to publish our internal dissensions, but 
their own restless zeal to advance their views has too 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1777. 



clearly oetrayed them, and made concealment on my 
part fruitless. I cannot precisely mark the extent of 
their views, but it appeared in general, that General 
Gates was to be exalted on the ruin of my reputation 
and influence. This I am authorized to say from unde- 
niable facts in my possession, from publications the evi- 
dent scope of which could not be mistaken, and from 
private detractions industriously circulated. ******** ? 
it is commonly supposed, bore the second part in the 
cabal ; and General Conway, I know, was a very ac- 
tive and malignant partisan ; but I have good reason 
to believe that their machinations have recoiled most 
sensibly upon themselves." 

General Gates, learning that a passage in a letter 
from Brigadier Conway to him had been communi- 
cated to the Commander-in-Chief, wrote the following 
letter, as extraordinary for the manner of its con- 
veyance, as for the matter it contains : — 

" I shall not attempt to describe what, as a private 
gentleman, I cannot help feeling, on representing to 
my mind, the disagreeable situation which confiden- 
tial letters, when exposed to public inspection, may 
place an unsuspecting correspondent in ; but, as a 
public officer, I conjure your Excellency to give me all 
the assistance you can, in tracing out the author of the 
infidelity, which put extracts from General Conway's 
letters to me into your hands. Those letters have been 
stealingly copied ; but which of them, when or by 
whom, is to me as yet an unfathomable secret. 

" There is not one officer in my suite, or among 
those who have free access to me, upon whom I could 
with the least justification to myself, fix the suspicion ; 
and yet my uneasiness may deprive me of the useful- 
ness of the worthiest men. It is, I believe, in your 



I/77-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. ^9 

Excellency's power to do me, and the United States, 
a very important service, by detecting a wretch who 
may betray me, and capitally injure the very opera- 
tions under your immediate direction. For this 
reason, sir, I beg your Excellency would favor me with 
the proofs you can procure to that effect. But the 
crime being eventually so important, that the least 
loss of time may be attended with the worst con- 
sequences ; and it being unknown to me whether the 
letter came to you from a member of Congress, or 
from an officer, I shall have the honor of transmitting 
a copy of this to the President, that Congress may, in 
concert with your Excellency, obtain, as soon as 
possible, a discovery which so deeply affects the safety 
of the States. Crimes of that magnitude ought not to 
remain unpunished." 

To which the General with dignity replied : — 
"Your letter of the 18th ultimo, came to my hands 
a few days ago, and to my great surprise informed me, 
that a copy of it had been sent to Congress, for what 
reason, I find myself unable to account ; but as some 
end doubtless was intended to be answered by it, I 
am laid under the disagreeable necessity of returning 
my answer through the same channel, lest any mem- 
ber of that honorable body should harbor an unfavor- 
able suspicion of my having practiced some indirect 
means to come at the contents of the confidential 
letters between you and General Conway. 

" I am to inform you then, that ****** f on his way to 
Congress, in the month of October last, fell in with 
Lord Sterling at Reading ; and, not in confidence 
that I ever understood, informed his aid-de-camp, 
Major M'Williams, that General Conway had written 
thus to you, ' Heaven has been determined to save 



I7 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777 

your country, or a weak general and bad counsellors 
would have ruined it.' Lord Sterling, from motives 
of friendship, transmitted the account with this re- 
mark : ' The enclosed was communicated by ****** 
to Major M> Williams ; such wicked duplicity of con- 
duct, I shall always think it my duty to detect.' 

"In consequence of this information, and without 
having anything more in view, than merely to show 
that gentleman that I was not unapprised of his 
intriguing disposition, I wrote him a letter in these 
words : — 

"Sir, a letter which I received last night, contained 
the following paragraph : — 

" ' In a letter from General Conway to General Gates 
he says, " heaven has been determined to save your 
country; or a weak general and bad counsellors 
would have ruined it ; " I am, sir, &c.' 

" Neither the letter, nor the information which 
occasioned it, was ever directly, or indirectly, com- 
municated by me to a single officer in this army (out of 
my own family) excepting the Marquis de la Fayette, 
who having been spoken to on the subject, by Gene- 
ral Conway, applied for, and saw, under injunction of 
secrecy, the letter which contained this information ; 
so desirous was I of concealing every matter that 
could, in its consequences, give the smallest interrup- 
tion to the tranquillity of this army, or afford a gleam 
of hope to the enemy by dissensions therein. 

" Thus, sir, with an openness and candor, which I 
hope will ever characterize and mark my conduct, 
have I complied with your request. 

" The only concern I feel upon the occasion, finding 
how matters stand, is, that, in doing this, I have neces- 
sarily been obliged to name a gentleman, who, I am 



i 7 77 ] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. jjj 

persuaded (although I never exchanged a word with 
him upon the subject), thought he was rather doing an 
act of justice, than committing an act of infidelity ; 
and sure I am, that until Lord Sterling's letter came 
to my hands, I never knew that General Conway 
(whom I viewed in the light of a stranger to you) was 
a correspondent of yours, much less did I suspect that 
I was the subject of your confidential letters. Pardon 
me then for adding, that, so far from conceiving that 
the safety of the States can be affected, or in the 
smallest degree injured, by a discovery of this kind, 
or that I should be called upon in such solemn 
terms to point out the author, that I considered the 
information as coming from yourself, and given with 
a friendly view to forewarn and consequently forearm 
me, against a secret enemy, or in other words, a 
dangerous incendiary, in which character, sooner or 
later, this country will know General Conway. But 
in this, as well as other matters of late, I have found 
myself mistaken." 

In the active period of the last campaign, the 
Pennsylvanians had been deficient in the support 
given to General Washington, yet sore at the loss 
of their capital, and at the depredation of the enemy 
in their towns, they murmured that he had not 
defended them against Sir William Howe, although 
his force was greatly inferior to that of the enemy. 
General Mifflin was then a member of the Legislature 
of that State. This Legislature being informed that 
the American army was moving into winter-quarters, 
presented a remonstrance tG Congress against the 
measure, in which unequivocal complaints were con- 
tained against the Commander-in-Chief. This re- 
monstrance was presented at the very time the dis- 



I7 2 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1777. 

covery was made, that the last rations in the com- 
missary's stores were issued to the soldiery. General 
Washington expressed the feelings of his patriotic 
and noble mind on this complaint, in a letter addressed 
to the President of Congress, and written in language 
which he used on no other occasion : — 

" Full as I was in my representations of the matters 
in the Commissary's department yesterday, fresh and 
more powerful reasons oblige me to add, that I am 
now convinced beyond a doubt, that unless some great 
and capital change suddenly takes place in that line, 
this army must inevitably be reduced to one or other 
of these three things, to starve, dissolve, or disperse, 
in order to obtain subsistence. Rest assured, sir, that 
this is not an exaggerated picture, and that I have 
abundant reason to suppose what I say. 

" Saturday afternoon, receiving information that the 
enemy, in force, had left the city and were advancing 
towards Derby with apparent design to forage, and 
draw subsistence from that part of the country, I 
ordered the troops to be in readiness that I might 
give every opposition in my power ; when, to my great 
mortification, I was not only informed, but convinced, 
that the men were unable to stir on account of a want 
of provisions ; and that a dangerous mutiny, begun 
the night before, and which with difficulty was sup- 
pressed by the spirited exertions of some officers, was 
still much to be apprehended from the want of this 
article. 

"This brought forth the only commissary in the 
purchasing line in this camp, and with him, this 
melancholy and alarming truth, that he had not a 
single hoof of any kind to slaughter, and not more 
than twenty-five barrels of flour ! From hence, form 



1777-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. I?3 

an opinion of our situation, when I add, that he could 
not tell when to expect any. 

" All I could do under these circumstances, was to 
send out a few light parties to watch and harass the 
enemy, whilst other parties were instantly detached 
different ways to collect, if possible, as much provision 
as would satisfy the present pressing wants of the 
soldiery ; but will this answer ? No, sir, three or 
four days of bad weather would prove our destruction. 
What then is to become of the army this winter? And 
if we are now as often without provisions as with 
them, what is to become of us in the spring, when 
our force will be collected with the aid, perhaps of 
militia, to take advantage of an early campaign before 
the enemy can be reinforced ? — These are consider- 
ations of great magnitude, meriting the closest at- 
tention, and will, when my own reputation is so inti- 
mately connected with, and to be affected by, the 
event, justify my saying, that the present commis- 
saries are by no means equal to the execution of their 
office, or that the disaffection of the people is past all 
belief. The misfortune, however, does, in my opinion, 
proceed from both causes ; and though I have been 
tender heretofore of giving any opinion, or of lodging 
complaints, as the change in that department took 
place contrary to my judgment, and the consequences 
thereof were predicted, yet finding that the inactivity 
of the army, whether for want of provisions, clothes, 
or other essentials, is charged to my account, not 
only by the common vulgar, but by those in power, it 
is time to speak plain, in exculpation of myself. With 
truth, then, I can declare, that no man, m my opinion, 
ever had his measures more impeded than I have by 
every department of the army. Since the month cf 



1^4 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [i777- 

July we have had no assistance from the Quarter- 
master-General ; and to want of assistance from this 
department, the Commissary-General charges great 
part of his deficiency. To this I am to add, that not- 
withstanding it is a standing order (and often re- 
peated) that the troops shall always have two days' 
provision by them, that they might be ready at any 
sudden call, yet scarcely any opportunity has ever 
offered of taking advantage of the enemy, that has 
not been either totally obstructed, or greatly impeded 
on this account ; and this, the great and crying evil, is 
not all : soap, vinegar, and other articles allowed by 
Congress, we see none of, nor have we seen them, I 
believe, since the battle of Brandywine. The first, 
indeed, we have now little occasion for ; few men 
having more than one shirt, many only the moiety of 
one, and some none at all. In addition to which, as a 
proof of the little benefit from a Clothier-general, and, 
at the same time, as a further proof - of the inability 
of an army under the circumstances of this, to per- 
form the common duties of soldiers (besides a number 
of men confined to hospitals for want of shoes, and 
others in farmers' houses on the same account) we 
have, by a field return this day made, no less than 
two thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight men, 
now in camp, unfit for duty, because they are bare- 
foot, a:id otherwise naked. By the same return, it 
appears that our whole strength in Continental troops 
(including the eastern brigades which have joined us 
since the surrender of General Burgoyne) exclusive 
of the Maryland troops sent to Wilmington, amounts 
to no more than eight thousand two hundred in camp, 
fit for duty ; notwithstanding which, and that since 
the fourth instant, our number fit for duty, from the 



I777-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. !^ 

hardships and exposures they have undergone, partic- 
ularly from the want of blankets, have decreased 
near two thousand men, we find gentlemen, without 
knowing whether the army was really going into 
winter-quarters or not (for I am sure no resolution 
of mine would warrant the remonstrance), reprobating 
the measure as much as if they thought the soldiers 
were made of stocks, or stones, and equally insensible 
of frost and snow ; and moreover, as if they conceived 
it easily practicable for an inferior army, under the 
disadvantages I have described ours to be, which is 
by no means exaggerated, to confine a superior one, 
in all respects well appointed, and provided for a 
winter's campaign, within the city of Philadelphia, and 
to cover from depredation and waste, the States of 
Pennsylvania, Jersey, &c. But what makes this 
matter still more extraordinary in my eyes is, that 
these very gentlemen, who were well apprised of the 
nakedness of the troops, from ocular demonstration, 
who thought their own soldiers worse clad than ours, 
and advised me, near a month ago, to postpone the 
execution of a plan I was about to adopt, in conse- 
quence of a resolve of Congress, for seizing clothes, 
under strong assurances, that an ample supply would 
be collected in ten days, agreeably to a decree of the 
State, not one article of which, by the bye, is yet 
come to hand, should think a winter's campaign, and 
the covering these States from the invasion of an en- 
emy, so easy and practicable a business. I can assure 
those gentlemen, that it is a much easier and less dis- 
tressing thing to draw remonstrances in a comfortable 
room, by a good fireside, than to occupy a cold bleak 
hill, and sleep under frost and snow without clothes 
or blankets. , However, although they seem to have 



176 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 

little feeling for the naked and distressed soldiers, I 
feel superabundantly for them, and from my soul pity 
those miseries which it is not in my power either to 
relieve or to prevent." 

All these efforts to displace the Commander-in- 
Chief were unavailing, and served only to expose their 
authors to the resentment of the community. He was 
too well established in the confidence of the army, and 
of the great body of the nation, to be moved from his 
elevated, but arduous trust. Even the victorious 
troops, which served under General Gates, indignantly 
noticed the attempt to raise him to the place of their 
beloved General. The resentment of the main army 
against those who were known to be the active ene- 
mies of General Washington, was so great, that none 
of them dared appear in camp. General Conway 
found it necessary to resign his commission. He 
afterwards fought a duel with General Cadwallader, 
and thinking himself to be mortally wounded, wrote 
General Washington the following letter : — 

" I find myself just able to hold .the pen during a 
few minutes, and take this opportunity to express my 
sincere grief for having done, written, or said, any- 
thing disagreeable to your Excellency. My career 
will soon be over ; therefore, justice and truth prompt 
me to declare my last sentiments. You are, in my 
eyes, the great and good man. May you long enjoy 
the love, veneration, and esteem of these States, whose 
liberties you have asserted by your virtues." 

1778. The sufferings of the army during this 
winter for provision and clothing were extreme,— The 
departments of the Gommissary-General and Quarter- 
master-General were not yet well arranged. The 
depreciation of the paper currency embarrassed all 



177*1 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



177 



purchases, and this embarrassment was increased by 
the injudicious attempt to regulate by law the prices 
of articles of consumption and traffic. The enemy 
possessed a number of the trading towns of the United 
States, and the commerce of the others was inter- 
rupted by their ships-of-war. These causes combined 
produced a famine in camp, and rendered a great part 
of the army incapable of service for the want of cloth- 
ing. Although the Commander-in-Chief applied all 
the means in his power to remedy these evils, yet 
from them he apprehended the dissolution of the 
army. In December he issued a proclamation, calling 
upon all the farmers within seventy miles of head- 
quarters, to thresh out one-half of their grain by the 
1st of February; and the other half by the 1st of 
March, on penalty of having it all seized as straw. 
Detachments were also sent out to collect all animals 
fit for slaughter, leaving only a competence for the 
use of the inhabitants. But notwithstanding all this 
vigilance and exertion, the supplies were inadequate. 
Early in February, the country in the neighborhood of 
camp became exhausted, and the commissaries com- 
municated to the General, that it would be impossible 
for them to supply the army beyond the first of March. 
General Washington looked towards New England 
as the only effectual source of necessary supplies. 
He accordingly addressed letters to the Executives of 
these States, painting in glowing colors the condition 
of the army, and urging these constituted authorities, 
by every motive of patriotism and honor, to forward 
provisions to his camp. These applications were ul- 
timately successful : but before relief in this way could 
be afforded, the scarcity was so great, as to threaten 
the total destruction of the army. The soldiers were 



ijS LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 

at times without meat for two, three, and in one in- 
stance, for five days. 

The distress of the army for the want of clothing 
was almost as great as that for want of provisions. 
Of more than seventeen thousand men in camp, the 
effectives amounted to only five thousand and twelve. 
In February, three thousand nine hundred and eighty- 
nine were unfit for duty by nakedness. The insuffi- 
ciency of the clothes of those who were called effec- 
tives, exposed them to colds and other consequent in- 
dispositions, and the hospitals were filled with the 
sick. 

General Washington happily possessed those com- 
manding and conciliatory talents which strongly at- 
tached the soldiery to his person, and by the influence 
of his character he stifled every appearance of mu- 
tiny. In general orders he soothed the minds of his 
troops, and in their imaginations lessened those evils 
which, in his addresses to Congress and to the State 
Governments, he w r as laboring to remove. Very few 
of the native Americans deserted from the army dur- 
ing this winter ; but many of the foreigners left their 
standards, and some of them fled with their arms to 
the British camp. 

Had Sir William Howe marched out of his winter- 
quarters and assaulted the American camp, the want 
of provision and clothing would have compelled the 
army, without serious contention, to disperse. But 
that cautious commander was restrained from the 
enterprise, from a regard to the health and safety of 
his own troops. Perhaps he did not fully know the 
condition of the American soldiery. 

While General Washington was actively employed 
in supplying his troops, his mind was deeply engaged 



177S.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. T jg 

on a plan to recruit the army for the approaching 
campaign. 

From jealousy of a standing army, or in the pros- 
pect of redress of grievances by the British Govern- 
ment, Congress depending on annual enlistments, and 
on the aid of the militia, had neglected to enlist men 
for the war, until the depreciation of the paper cur- 
rency, the hardships and privations of the soldiers, 
and the high bounty paid for short periods of service, 
rendered the measure impracticable. General Wash- 
ington importuned Congress and the governments of 
the respective States not to rely on foreign aid, but 
depending on the strength and resources of the coun- 
try, to make the necessary exertions seasonably to 
meet the operations of the British General. 

He gave an exact account to each State of its 
troops on the Continental establishment, and urged 
them respectively to supply their deficiency. 

The serious difficulties respecting the army induced 
Congress to depute a committee of their own body 
to the camp, to consult with the General, and report 
to them such plans as the public interest required. 
This committee repaired to head-quarters in January. 
The General having taken the advice of his officers 
presented to them a memorial stating the difficulties 
that existed in the army, and pointing out the rem- 
edies. In these remedies was included that honorable 
provision for officers which would make their com- 
missions valuable, and secure the prompt execution of 
duty, through fear of censure, and from an apprehen- 
sion of the loss of employment. 

The representations of General Washington pro- 
duced, in a good degree, their effect. The division of 
power in the subordinate departments of the army, 



i8o 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[177& 



which had destroyed all responsibility and created 
endless confusion, was removed. General Green 
was appointed Quarter-master-General, and Colonel 
Wadsworth Commissary-General. These officers had 
a controlling power over their deputies, and under 
their management these departments were greatly im- 
proved. The movements of the army were from this 
period made with facility, and the soldiers never 
afterwards suffered privations like those of this 
winter. 

The alliance of France with America, and the sub- 
sequent co-operation of that power with the United 
States, rendered Philadelphia a dangerous post for the 
British. Before the campaign opened, Sir William 
Howe resigned the command of the British 
May 20. army, and Sir Henry Clinton, with his com- 
mission as Commander-in-Chief, received or- . 
ders to evacuate that city. General Washington 
early penetrated this intention, and made his arrange- 
ments to meet it. He was uncertain whether the 
evacuation would be made by water, or vyhether Sir 
Henry would march his army through Jersey to New 
York. As circumstances strengthened the probability 
that the British commander would attempt a passage 
through New Jersey, General Washington detached 
General Maxwell with the Jersey brigade over the 
Delaware to take post on Mount Holly, and with the 
assistance of the Jersey militia, to obstruct the pro- 
gress of the enemy. He was directed to fell trees, 
to break up bridges, and to hang upon the flanks of 
the British army. 

When it was fully ascertained that Sir 
June 17. Henry Clinton was crossing the Delaware, 
General Washington required the opinion 



1778.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. I g 1 

of his officers respecting measures proper to be pur- 
sued. General Lee, who, having been exchanged, 
had now joined the army, was decidedly against a 
general action, and he discountenanced even a partial 
attack, on the supposition that it would probably 
bring on a general engagement. In this opinion, the 
officers almost unanimously concurred. Of seventeen 
generals who composed the military council on this 
occasion, General Wayne and General Cadwallader 
only were decidedly in favor of an engagement. Gen- 
eral Green gave it as his opinion that the country 
should be defended, and that if this led to an engage- 
ment, he would not shun it. 

Although many of their stores were taken down 
the river in the shipping, yet the British army was en- 
cumbered with an immense quantity of baggage ; and 
their line of march extended twelve miles. The 
weather being intensely hot, their movements were 
very slow ; in seven days they marched only forty 
miles. On the 24th, General Clinton reached Allen- 
ton, and it was yet uncertain whether he would take 
the road to Amboy, or to Sandy Hook. General 
Washington therefore kept upon the Highlands of 
New Jersey above the enemy. In this situation he 
had it in his power to fight or not, as circumstances 
should dictate. By the slow movement of the enemy, 
he was inclined to think that Sir Henry wished for 
an engagement. Colonel Morgan, with his regiment, 
consisting of six hundred men, was detached to gain 
the right flank of the enemy, and ordered to annoy him 
in every possible way. General Cadwallader, with 
Jackson's regiment, and a small corps of militia, was 
ordered to harass his rear. 

The British army at this time was calculated at ten 



182 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [i 77 & 

thousand men, and the American army consisted of 
between ten and eleven thousand. Although the late 
council decided by a large majority against a general 
engagement, yet General Washington inclined to 
the measure. He again summoned his officers, and 
took their opinion, " whether it was advisable to seek 
a general action ? If advisable, is it best to attack 
with the whole army, to bring on a general engage- 
ment by a partial attack, or to take a position that 
shall oblige the enemy to make an assault upon us ? " 
The council again determined against a general en- 
gagement ; but advised to strengthen the detachments 
on the wings of the enemy. General Scott was in 
consequence detached with fifteen hundred men to 
this service. 

Having a force rather superior to the British, 
General Washington conceived that the favorable 
opportunity to attack the enemy ought not to be lost, 
and, on his own responsibility, resolved to hazard a 
general engagement. 

Having learned that Sir Henry Clinton was 
June 2^. mov j n g towards Monmouth Court House, he 
detached Brigadier Wayne with a thousand men to 
reinforce the troops in advance. He offered the com- 
mand of the whole force in front to General Lee ; but 
he, being opposed even to partial actions with the 
enemy, declined the service. The Marquis La Fayette 
joyfully accepted the command, which his senior 
Major-General had declined. The orders given to the 
Marquis were similar to those which had before been 
given to the officers on the lines, to gain the rear and 
right flank of the enemy, and give him all possible 
annoyance. The Commander-in-Chief put the main 
army in motion, that he might be in a situation to 



1778] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON 



support his parties in advance. By these movements 
General Lee perceived that more importance than he 
had imagined was given to the division in front, and 
he now importunately requested the command which 
he before had declined. To gratify him without mor- 
tifying the Marquis, he was detached with two addi 
tional brigades to act in front, and the command of 
the whole, consisting of five thousand men, of course 
devolved on him. He was ordered to keep his detach- 
ments constantly on their arms and ever in a situation 
to attack. 

Sir Henry Clinton perceiving the approach of a 
powerful force, changed the position of his army, and 
placed his best troops in the rear. On the 27th, he 
encamped in a secure manner on the heights about 
Monmouth Court House. He could not be attacked 
in this position with the probability of success, and he 
was within twelve miles of strong ground, where he 
could not be assailed. General Washington, there- 
fore, resolved to attack him as soon as he should move 
from his present encampment. 

About five in the morning, the Commander- 
June 2 . i n _Qfc e £ was j n f ormec j that the front of the 

British army was in motion ; he immediately dispatched 
an aid-de-camp to General Lee with orders to move 
on and attack the rear of the enemy, " unless there 
should be powerful reasons to the contrary," assuring 
him that the main body should seasonably move to 
support him. 

From the movements of the American army, Sir 
Henry expected an attack. Early on the morning of 
the 28th, General Knyphausen marched with all the 
baggage of the British army. The grenadiers, light 
infantry, and chasseurs, unencumbered, remained on 



ig 4 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778 

the ground under the command of Lord Cornwailis, 
and with this division was Sir Henry. 

Having allowed time for General Knyphausen to 
move out of his way, Lord Cornwailis about eight 
o'clock took up his line of march, and descended from 
the heights of Freehold into a plain of about three 
miles extent. General Lee made his disposition to 
execute the orders of the Commander-in-Chief Pass- 
ing the heights of Freehold, he entered the plain, and 
ordered General Wayne to attack the rear of the 
covering party of the enemy in such a manner as to 
halt them ; while he himself by a shorter road should 
gain their front, with the design to cut them off from 
the main body of their army. 

In the mean time General Clinton perceiving that 
strong columns of Americans were hanging upon both 
his flanks, and supposing that their object was to 
attack his baggage now passing through defiles, re- 
solved to halt Lord Cornwallis's division and attack 
the Americans in his rear, with the expectation, that 
General Washington by this manoeuvre would be 
induced to recall his detachment in advance. This 
movement was made at the moment Lee was recon- 
noitring their covering party. He found this corps 
much stronger than he had supposed it to be, and the 
ground he thought unfavorable for an attack. In his 
rear was a morass which could be passed only by a 
neck of hard land, which rendered it difficult for rein- 
forcements to reach him, and would impede his retreat 
should he be repulsed. He was finally induced, by a 
movement of General Scott, to cross the ravine and 
regain the heights of Freehold. 

During these manoeuvres, some skirmishing took 
place. As soon as General Washington heard the 



I7;8.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. r gS 

firing, he directed the troops under his immediate 
command to throw off their packs and march rapidly 
to the support of the division in front. General Lee 
gave no information of his retrograde manoeuvre to the 
Commander-in-Chief. As General Washington was 
approaching the scene of action in advance of his 
troops, he met to his surprise and mortification, the 
corps of General Lee retreating before the enemy, 
without having made any serious efforts to maintain 
their ground. He found General Lee in the rear of 
his division, whom he addressed with warmth, and in 
language disapproving his retreat. He immediately 
ordered two regiments to form on ground favorable to 
check the advancing enemy. He asked General Lee, 
will you command on this ground ? Consenting, he 
was ordered to arrange the remainder of his division, 
and to take measures to stop the advance of the Brit- 
ish. " Your orders," Lee replied, u shall be obeyed, 
and I will not be the first to leave the field." The 
Commander-in-Chief returned to the main body and 
formed it for action. The division of Lee now bravely 
sustained a severe conflict with the van of the Brit- 
ish, and when forced from the ground, Lee brought 
his troops off in order, and formed them in rear of 
English Town. 

The check the enemy received, enabled General 
Washington to form the left wing, and second line of 
the army on an eminence. Lord Sterling, who com- 
manded this wing, planted a battery of cannon and 
played with effect upon the British column, which 
had passed the morass and was pressing on to charge 
the Americans. At the same time a body of infantry 
was brought into action. The advance of the enemy 
was by these measures stopped. 



i86 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1778 



General Green, who on this day commanded the 
right wing of the American army, had left the direct 
road near English Town and moved upon the right, as 
a security to this flank of the army, and had rather 
passed the ground on which the action began. Learn- 
ing the situation of General Washington, he brought 
up his division, and took an advantageous position on 
the right. 

The enemy now attempted to turn the left flank of 
the Americans, but were repulsed by parties of infan- 
try. They then assailed the right w r ing, and here too 
they failed. General Green had posted a body of troops 
with artillery on commanding ground in his front, 
which severely galled the enemy. At this period 
General Wayne advanced with a strong corps of infan- 
try, and in a close and well directed fire attacked them 
in front. They gave way and fell behind the ravine 
to the ground, on which the Commander-in-Chief met 
General Lee in the morning. On this ground the 
British formed in a strong position. Both flanks were 
covered by woods and morasses, and their front could 
be attacked only through a narrow pass. 

General Washington, even under these circum- 
stances, determined to renew the engagement. In 
pursuance of this resolution, he ordered Brigadier 
Poor to gain the right flank of the British, and Briga- 
dier Woodford their left. The artillery was directed 
to play upon them in front. Before these orders 
could be effectually carried into execution, the day 
was fully spent. The General therefore determined 
to defer the attack until the next morning. He 
ordered the troops to retain their respective po- 
sitions, and to lay on their arms. The General in 
the course of the day had shunned no danger, and 



1778.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. jgj 

he slept in his cloak amidst his soldiers on the field 
of battle. 

At midnight, the British moved off their ground 
with such silence, that General Poor, although very 
near, did not perceive it. General Washington knew 
that the British army would reach high and unassail- 
able ground before he could come up with them, and 
therefore discontinued the pursuit. He dispatched 
small parties of light troops to protect the country 
from depredation, and to encourage desertion. The 
main body of his army he marched to cover the im- 
portant passes in the Highlands on the Hudson. 

General Washington was satisfied with the be- 
havior of his army on this day. In his official com- 
munication to Congress he mentioned that after the 
troops had recovered from the surprise of the unex- 
pected retreat of the morning, their conduct could 
not have been surpassed. General Wayne was no- 
ticed with great commendation, and the artillery corps 
was said to have highly distinguished itself. 

In the battle of Monmouth, eight officers and sixty- 
one privates of the Americans were killed ; and about 
one hundred and sixty wounded. Among the killed 
were Lieutenant-Colonel Bonner of Pennsylvania and 
xVlajor Dickinson of Virginia, officers of merit, whose 
fall was much lamented. The Americans buried 
about three hundred of the British, who had been 
found on the field, although Sir Henry Clinton, in his 
official letter, stated his loss in killed and missing at 
four officers and one hundred and eighty-four privates, 
and his wounded at sixteen officers and one hundred 
and fifty-four privates. Among the slain was the 
Honorable Colonel Monckton, an officer of celebrity. 
The day had been excessively hot, and numbers, both 



i88 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



ti77». 



British and Americans, were found among the dead 
without wounds, who had fallen victims to the heat. 

The Americans made about a hundred prisoners, 
and nearly a thousand privates, mostly Germans, de- 
serted the British standard, on the march through 
New Jersey. 

Congress highly approved of the conduct of the 
Commander-in-Chief in bringing on the action of the 
28th, and was gratified with its issue. In a resolution 
which passed that body unanimously, their thanks 
were given to General Washington " for the activity 
with which he moved from the camp at Valley Forge, 
in pursuit of the enemy ; for his distinguished exer- 
tions in forming the line of battle ; and for his great, 
good conduct in the action," He was requested " to 
signify the thanks of Congress to the officers and 
men under his command, who distinguished them- 
selves by their conduct and valor in the battle/' 

Although the Commander-in-Chief disapproved of 
the retreat, yet could the proud spirit of General Lee 
have patiently borne what he considered as a repri- 
mand on the field of battle, it is probable that an ex- 
planation mutually satisfactory might have taken place. 
General Washington continued him in command on 
the day of action, after his retreat, and discovered no 
disposition to take public notice of it. But the irri- 
table and lofty spirit of Lee urged him to write the 
next day two offensive letters to General Washing- 
ton, in which, assuming the language of a superior, 
he demanded satisfaction for the insult offered him 
on the field of battle. On deliberation, the Com- 
mander-in-Chief informed him " that he should have 
an opportunity to justify himself to the army, to 
America, and the world, or of convincing them that 



i 77 S.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 189 

he had been guilty of breach of orders and miscon- 
duct before the enemy. General Lee expressing his 
desire for a court-martial in preference to a court of 
inquiry, was arrested upon the following charges : 

1. For disobedience of orders in not attacking the 
enemy on the 28th of June, agreeably to repeated 
instructions. 

2. For misbehavior before the enemy on the same 
day, by making an unnecessary, disorderly, and 
shameful retreat. 

3. For disrespect to the Commander-in-Chief, in two 
letters. 

The high coloring of the second charge was in con- 
sequence of complaints entered by Generals Wayne 
and Scott against General Lee, which on investiga- 
tion appeared to have been founded in their misappre- 
hending his movements. Lord Sterling presided at 
the court, which found him guilty of all the charges, 
but softened the language of the second, and found 
him guilty of misbehavior, by making an unnecessary, 
and in some few instances, a disorderly retreat. The 
court sentenced him to be suspended from his com- 
mand for one year. 

Congress, with some hesitation, almost unanimously 
approved the sentence. 

The suspension of General Lee was highly satisfac- 
tory to the army. They keenly resented his abuse 
to the Commander-in-Chief, and his continuance in 
commission probably would have produced great in- 
convenience. 

Scarcely had Sir Henry Clinton reached New York 
when a French fleet appeared off the Chesapeake, un- 
der the command of Count d'Estaing. He had been 
eighty-seven days in crossing the Atlantic. Had his 



190 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 

passage been an ordinary one, he would have found 
Lord Howe in the Delaware, and the capture or de- 
struction of the British fleet in that river, and prob- 
ably of the army in Philadelphia, must have been the 
consequence. Count d'Estaing being disappointed 
at the Delaware, sailed along the coast to Sandy 
Hook. General Washington moved his army to 
White Plains, that he might be in a situation to co- 
operate with the French admiral against New York. 

In the mean time, Sir Henry Clinton employed his 
whole force to strengthen his lines. The French ad- 
miral finding an attack upon New York impractica- 
ble, a conjoint expedition was planned against Rhode 
Island. 

At the critical moment when the success of the 
united action of the French and American army was 
reduced to a moral certainty, Count d'Estaing sailed 
out of the harbor of Newport to fight Lord Howe. 
Being overtaken by a violent storm, his fleet was 
greatly damaged, and he thought it advisable to re- 
pair to Boston harbor to refit. 

In consequence of the harbor of Newport being 
opened to the British, General Sullivan, the com- 
manding officer upon Rhode Island, was compelled to 
retreat. He and his general officers had remonstrated 
against Count d'Estaing leaving Newport, and in the 
moment of disappointment and irritation at the fail- 
ure of the expedition, General Sullivan in orders used 
expressions which were construed into a severe re- 
flection upon the French admiral and other marine 
officers, and which they resented. 

General Washington, alarmed at the probable 
consequences of a misunderstanding and jealousy be- 
tween the French and Americans, so soon after the 



1778.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. ! 9 ! 

alliance was formed, and in the very commencement 
of their united operations, immediately adopted meas- 
ures to prevent them. In letters to Generals Heath 
and Sullivan, he communicated the mode of conduct 
which he wished might in this delicate transaction be 
pursued. 

To Heath, who commanded in Boston, he expressed 
his apprehension that resentment of the conduct of 
the Count might prevent the proper exertion to repair 
and victual the French fleet, and he urged Heath to 
counteract such prejudices. 

" It will certainly be sound policy to combat the 
effects, and whatever private opinions may be enter- 
tained, to give the best construction of what has hap- 
pened to the public ; and at the same time to exert 
ourselves to put the French fleet, as soon as possible, 
in a condition to defend itself, and be useful to us. 
The departure of the fleet from Rhode Island is not 
yet publicly announced here ; but when it is, I intend 
to ascribe it to necessity produced by the damage 
received in the late storm. This, it appears to me, is 
the idea which ought to be generally propagated. As 
I doubt not, the force of these reasons will strike you 
equally with myself, I would recommend to you to use 
your utmost influence to palliate and soften matters, 
and to induce those whose business it is to provide 
succors of every kind for the fleet, to employ their 
utmost zeal and activity in doing it. It is our duty to 
make the best of our misfortunes, and not suffer 
passion to interfere with our interest and the public 
good." 

To General Sullivan he mentioned " his apprehen- 
sion that should the expedition fail, in consequence of 
being abandoned by the French fleet, loud complaints 



192 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1778. 

might be made by the officers employed on it. Pru- 
dence," he said, " dictated the propriety of giving this 
affair the best appearance, and of attributing the 
withdrawing the fleet from Rhode Island to absolute 
necessity. The reasons," he added, "for this line of 
conduct, were too obvious to need explanation. That 
of most importance was, that their enemies, both 
internal and external, would seize the first cause of 
disgust between the allies, and endeavor to convert it 
into a serious rupture." 

When the General received the resolution of Con- 
gress, directing him to take every measure in his 
power to prevent the publication of the protest entered 
into by General Sullivan and his officers, he commu- 
nicated the resolution and with it the following letter : 
" The disagreement between the army under your 
command, and the fleet, has given me very singular 
uneasiness. The continent at large is concerned in 
our cordiality, and it should be kept up by all possible 
means consistent with our honor and policy. First 
impressions, you know, are generally longest retained, 
and will serve to fix, in a great degree, our national 
character with the French. In our conduct towards 
them, we should remember, that they are a people old 
in war, very strict in military etiquette, and apt to 
take fire when others scarcely seem warmed. Permit 
me to recommend, in the most particular manner, the 
cultivation of harmony and good agreement, and your 
endeavors to destroy that ill-humor which may have 
found its way among the officers. It is of the utmost 
importance too, that the soldiers and the people should 
know nothing of this misunderstanding, or, if it has 
reached them, that means may be used to stop its 
progress and prevent its effects." 



1778.J LIFE OF WASHINGTON. ^3 

In a correspondence with Count d'Estaing, General 
Washington strove to soften his resentments, to sooth 
the chagrin of disappointment, and to conciliate his 
good affections towards the United States. 

These prudent measures were attended with the 
most salutary effects. 

With the battle of Monmouth, active operations for 
the campaign closed in the Middle States. On the 
approach of winter, the American army went into 
quarters in the neighborhood of the Highlands. 
Being better clothed and fed than in the preceding 
winter, their situation was greatly ameliorated, and 
their sufferings were comparatively nothing. 

At the close of the campaign of 1778, the local 
situation of the hostile armies did not greatly differ 
from that at the commencement of the campaign of 
1776, except the possession of New York by the 
British. 

This fact is impressively stated by General Wash- 
ington, in a letter written to a friend. " It is not a 
little pleasing, nor less wonderful to contemplate, that 
after two years manoeuvring, and undergoing the 
strangest vicissitudes, both armies are brought back to 
the very point they set out from, and the offending 
party in the beginning is now reduced to the use of 
the pickaxe and the spade for defence. The hand of 
Providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he 
must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and 
more than wicked that has not gratitude to acknowledge 
his obligations." 



13 



194 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1779- 



CHAPTER VI. 

Plan formed by Congress and the French minister for the 
invasion of Canada and Nova Scotia — General Washington's 
objections to it — Tardiness of the United States to prepare 
for the approaching campaign — The exertions of the General 
— His letter on the state of the nation — The remonstrance 
of officers belonging to the New Jersey brigade — Letters of 
the Commander-in-Chief on the subject — Expedition against 
the Indians under. General Sullivan— He destroys their 
towns — The American army posted for the defence of the 
Highlands on the North river, and for the protection of the 
country against the incursions of the British — Sir Henry 
Clinton moves up the Hudson, takes possession of Stony 
and Verplank Points, and fortifies them — Arrangements made 
for assaulting these posts — General Wayne carries Stony 
Point by storm — The attack upon Verplank fails — Congress 
vote their thanks to General Washington and to the brave 
troops employed in this service — They vote General Wayne 
a medal — Evils of short enlistments — Plan of the General's 
to remedy them — The army in two divisions erect huts for 
winter quarters — The troops suffer through the scarcity of 
provisions — Colonel Wadsworth resigns his office — Confusion 
in the commissary's department — The Commander-in-Chief 
apportions supplies of meat and flour upon the counties of 
New Jersey — The winter excessively cold, and the waters 
around New York frozen over — Expedition to Staten Island 
fails, 

1779. The emancipation of Canada had ever been 
an important object with Congress. By its incorpor- 
ation with the revolted colonies, the boundaries of the 
United States would be greatly enlarged, and the 
country delivered from the destruction and terror of 
war from the northern tribes of Indians. 



17/9] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 195 

In the winter of 1777-8, an expedition for this 
purpose had been settled with the Marquis de la 
Fayette, and in its prosecution he repaired to Ticon- 
deroga. Wanting then the means to accomplish the 
design, it was relinquished. During the succeeding 
autumn the scheme was resumed under the auspices 
of the French minister. The plan embraced the con- 
quest of Canada, Nova Scotia, and all their depen- 
dencies. It was to be carried into effect by the joint 
operations of distinct detachments of Americans, 
acting in different points, and all co-operating with a 
French fleet and army on the river Saint Lawrence. 

This lofty scheme of military operations had been 
adopted in Congress without consulting with the 
Commander-in-Chief, or any American officer. It 
was to be communicated to the French Court by the 
Marquis de la Fayette, and his influence, with that 
of the French minister, was to be employed to in- 
duce his government to adopt their part of the ex- 
pedition. In October the plan was communicated to 
General Washington ; he was desired to give Con- 
gress his opinion upon it, and to enclose it with his 
comments to the Marquis. 

The General had already revolved in his mind an 
expedition against the British posts in Upper Canada, 
with the intention to be prosecuted the next season, 
on the contingence that the British army should be 
withdrawn from the United States. Struck with the 
extravagance of the plan of Congress, instead of com- 
plying with their requisiton, he wrote to them, stating 
in strong terms his objections to the scheme. He 
mentioned the impolicy of entering into any en- 
gagements with the Court of France to execute a 
combined system of operation, without a moral cer- 



! 9 6 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [17/9. 

tainty of being able to execute the part assigned to 
America. 

It was, the General observed, morally certain in his 
mind, that if the English should maintain their posts 
on the continent, it would be impracticable to furnish 
the men, or the necessary stores and provisions for 
the expedition. " If I rightly understand the plan/' he 
remarked, " it requires for its execution, twelve thou- 
sand and six hundred rank and file. Besides these, to 
open passages through a wilderness, for the march of 
the several bodies of troops, to provide the means of 
long and difficult transportation by land and water, to 
establish posts of communication for the security of 
our convoys, to build and man vessels of force neces- 
sary for acquiring a superiority on the lakes : these 
and many other purposes peculiar to these enter- 
prises will require a much larger proportion of arti- 
ficers, and persons to be employed in manual and la- 
borious offices than are usual in military operations." 
The aggregate number, he observed, requisite for the 
contemplated expedition, added to the force necessary 
to be kept in the field to restrain depredation from the 
British posts at New York, would make nearly double 
the men necessary, to any number, which with all their 
efforts, the United States were ever yet able to raise. 

The experience of the General taught him, that it 
would be as difficult to furnish the necessary supplies 
of provisions as to raise the men. " The scene of our 
operations has hitherto been in the heart of the coun- 
try, furnishing our resources, which of course facil- 
itated the drawing them out. We shall then be 
carrying on the war at an immense distance, in a 
country wild and uncultivated, incapable of affording 
any aid, and great part of it hostile. We cannot, in 



I779-] LIFE 0F WASHINGTO I97 

this case, depend on temporary and occasional sup- 
plies, as we have been accustomed; but must have 
ample magazines laid up before-hand. The labor and 
expense in forming these, and transporting the neces- 
sary stores of every kind for the use of the troops, will 
be increased to a degree that can be more easily con- 
ceived than described. The transportation must *be a 
great part of the way through deserts affording no 
other forage than herbage ; and from this circum- 
stance our principal provisions, of the flesh kind, must 
be salted, which would greatly increase the diffi- 
culty, both of providing and transporting." Supplies 
upon this scale, he conceived, greatly exceeded the 
resources of the country, and in policy and honor, 
Congress could not promise to furnish them. 

Serious doubts rested upon the mind of the Gen- 
eral whether France w T ould execute the part of the 
Canada expedition assigned to her. The superiority 
of the British fleet was evident. The Court of Lon- 
don would be made acquainted with the scheme, and 
a superior British fleet might prevent the French 
squadron, detached on this service, from entering the 
River St. Lawrence, or destroy it after its entrance ; 
or, the British garrisons in Canada might be rein- 
forced, and rendered superior to the assailing arma 
ment. 

In an expedition consisting of several distinct parts, 
General Washington thought it unreasonable to ex- 
pect that exact co-operation among the different de- 
tachments which would be necessary for mutual sup- 
port ; of consequence, the divisions might be defeated 
in detail, and after all the expense, the expedition 
miscarry. The consequences of a failure, which were 
much to be deprecated, would be the misapplication 



198 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1779. 

of the French force ; the ruin of the detachments em- 
ployed in the expedition, and jealousy and disaffec- 
tion between France and the United States. 

The letter of the Commander-in-Chief, Congress 
referred to a committee. In the report, this com- 
mittee admit his objections to be weighty, but still 
advise to the prosecution of the plan. Congress ac- 
cepted the report, and again requested the General to 
write fully on the subject to the Marquis, and to Dr. 
Franklin, then the American Minister at the Court 
of Versailles. Congress probably felt themselves al- 
ready pledged by their conversation with the Mar- 
quis and the French Minister, and possibly they 
thought that measures had already been adopted in 
France to carry the plan into execution. 

General Washington was greatly perplexed by the 
perseverance of Congress in this measure. All his 
objections to the plan remained in full force, and he 
found himself called upon to use his influence to 
bring the French Government to adopt a scheme, of 
which he himself wholly disapproved, and to promise 
the co-operation of the American arms in a manner 
that he thought impracticable. To this request he 
thus replied- — 

" I have attentively taken up the report of the com- 
mittee of the 5th (approved by Congress) on the 
subject of my letter of the nth ultimo, on the pro- 
posed expedition into Canada. I have considered it 
in several lights, and sincerely regret that I should 
feel myself under any embarrassment in carrying it 
into execution. Still I remain of opinion, from a gen- 
eral review of things, and the state of our resources, 
that no extensive system of co-operation with the 
French for the complete emancipation of Canada, 



1779] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 199 

can be positively decided on for the ensuing year. 
To propose a plan of perfect co-operation with a 
foreign power, without a moral certainty in our sup- 
plies, and to have that plan actually ratified with the 
Court of Versailles, might be attended, in case of 
failure in the conditions on our part, with very fatal 
effects. 

" If I should seem unwilling to transmit the plan as 
prepared by Congress, with my observations, it is be- 
cause I find myself under a necessity (in order to 
give our minister sufficient ground to found an appli- 
cation on) to propose something more than a vague 
and indecisive plan ; which, even in the event of a 
total evacuation of the States by the enemy, may 
be rendered impracticable in the execution by a va- 
riety of insurmountable obstacles ; or if I retain my 
present sentiments, and act consistently I must point 
out the difficulties, as they appear to me, which must 
embarrass his negotiations, and may disappoint the 
views of Congress. 

" But proceeding on the idea of the enemy's leaving 
these States, before the active part of the ensuing 
campaign, I should fear to hazard a mistake, as to the 
precise aim and extent of the views of Congress. 
The conduct I am to observe in writing to our min- 
ister at the Court of France, does not appear suffici- 
ently delineated. Were I to undertake it, I should be 
much afraid of erring through misconception. In this 
dilemma, I would esteem it a particular favor to be 
excused from writing at all on the subject, especi- 
ally as it is the part of candor in me to acknowledge, 
that I do not see my way clear enough to point out 
such a plan for co-operation, as I conceive to be con- 
sistent with the ideas of Congress, and as will be 



200 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



sufficiently explanatory with respect to time and cir- 
cumstances, to give efficacy to the measure. 

" But if Congress still think it necessary for me to 
proceed in the business, I must request their more 
definite and explicit instructions, and that they will 
permit me, previous to transmitting the intended 
despatches, to submit them to their determination. 

" I could wish to lay before Congress more minutely 
the state of the army, the condition of supplies, and 
the requisites necessary for carrying into execution 
an undertaking that may involve the most serious 
events. If Congress still think this can be done more 
satisfactorily in a personal conference, I hope to have 
the army in such a situation before I can receive their 
answer, as to afford me an opportunity of giving my 
attendance." 

Congress indulged the General with the proposed 
interview, and a committee of their body was chosen 
to confer with him on this business and on the state 
of the army. His objections were found to be un- 
answerable, and the Canada expedition was laid aside. 

To the magnificent schemes of Congress upon 
Canada, succeeded through United America a state 
of supineness and inaction. An alliance with France 
was received as a security for independence. In the 
expectation that Great Britain would relinquish the 
American war, that she might with her united force 
contend with her ancient enemy in Europe, Congress 
appeared not disposed to encounter the expense 
necessary to prepare for another active campaign- 
The delusive supposition that the war was over pre- 
vailed through the country, and palsied the spirit of 
the community. General Washington perpetually 
stimulated his countrymen to exertion. Uninfected 



1779-1 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON 



201 



with the common delusion, he believed that Great 
Britain would continue the American war, and in 
every possible way exerted himself seasonably to be 
prepared for the conflict of the field. But Congress 
was slowly roused to attention to this important 
business. Their resolution empowering the Com- 
mander-in-Chief to recruit the army did not pass until 
the 23d of January, 1779, and the requisition upon the 
several States was not made until the 9th of March. 

The dissensions which at this time existed in Con- 
gress, the speculations that prevailed through the 
country in consequence of the depreciation of paper 
money, and the apparent reluctance among all classes 
of citizens to make sacrifices for the public interest, 
greatly alarmed General Washington. His appre- 
hensions are fully disclosed in the annexed letter 
written at the time to a confidential friend of distin- 
guished reputation in the political world : — 

"I am particularly desirous of a free communication 
of sentiments with you at this time, because I view 
things very differently, I fear, from what people in 
general do, who seem to think the contest at an end, 
and that to make money and get places are the only 
things now remaining to be done. I have seen 
without despondency, even for a moment, the hours 
which America has styled her gloomy ones ; but I 
have beheld no day since the commencement of hostil- 
ities, when I have thought her liberties in such immi- 
nent danger as at present. Friends and foes seem 
now to combine to pull down the goodly fabric we 
have hitherto been raising, at the expense of so much 
time, blood, and ti easure ; and unless the bodies politic 
will exert themselves to bring things back to first 
principles, correct abuses, and punish our internal foes, 



202 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



inevitable ruin must follow. Indeed we seem to be 
verging so fast to destruction that I am filled with 
sensations to which I have been a stranger until within 
these three months. Our enemy behold with exulta- 
tion and joy how effectually we labor for their benefit ; 
and from being in a state of absolute despair and on 
the point of evacuating America, are now on tiptoe. 
Nothing, therefore, in my judgment, can save us but 
a total reformation in our own conduct, or some 
decisive turn of affairs in Europe. The former, alas ! 
to our shame be it spoken, is less likely to happen 
than the latter, as it is now consistent with the views 
of the speculators, various tribes of money-makers, 
and stock-jobbers of all denominations, to continue 
the war, for their own private emolument, without 
considering that this avarice and thirst for gain must 
plunge everything, including themselves, in one com- 
mon ruin. 

" Were I to indulge my present feelings, and give a 
loose to that freedom of expression which my unre- 
served friendship would prompt to, I should say a 
great deal on this subject. But letters are liable to so 
many accidents, and the sentiments of men in office 
are sought after by the enemy with so much avidity, 
and besides conveying useful knowledge (if they get 
into their hands) for the superstructure of their plans, 
are so often perverted to the worst of purposes, that 
I shall be somewhat reserved, notwithstanding this 
letter goes by a private hand to Mount Vernon. I 
cannot refrain lamenting, however, in the most poig- 
nant terms, the fatal policy too prevalent in most of 
the States, of employing their ablest men at home, in 
posts of honor or profit, before the great national 
interest is fixed upon a solid basis. 



1779-1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 2 o$ 

" To me it appears no unjust simile, to compare the 
affairs of this great continent to the mechanism of a 
clock, each State representing some one or other of 
the small parts of it, which they are endeavoring to 
put in fine order, without considering how useless and 
unavailing their labor is, unless the great wheel, or 
spring, which is to set the whole in motion, is also 
well attended to and kept in good order. I allude to 
no particular State, nor do I mean to cast reflections 
upon any one of them, nor ought I, as it may be said, 
to do so upon their representatives ; but as it is a fact 
too notorious to be concealed, that Congress is rent 
by party ; that much business of a trifling nature and 
„ personal concernment, withdraws their attention from 
matters of great national moment, at this critical 
period ; when it is also known that idleness and dis- 
sipation take place of close attention and application ; 
no man who wishes well to the liberties of his country 
and desires to see its rights established, can avoid 
crying out — Where are our men of abilities ? Why 
do they not come forth to save their country ? Let 
this voice, my dear sir, call upon you, Jefferson, and 
others. Do not, from a mistaken opinion that we are 
to sit down under our vine and our own fig-tree, let 
our hitherto noble struggle end in ignominy. Believe 
me when I tell you there is danger of it. I have pretty 
good reasons for thinking that administration, a little 
while ago, had resolved to give the matter up, and 
negotiate a peace with us upon almost any terms; but 
I shall be much mistaken if they do not now, from the 
present state of our currency, dissensions, and other 
circumstances, push matters to the utmost extremity. 
Nothing, I am sure, will prevent it but the interruption 
of Spain, and their disappointed hope from Prussia." 



204 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



1*779. 



The depreciation of the paper currency had reduced 
the pay of the American officers to a pittance, and 
the effects were severely felt. At the moment the 
campaign was to open, the dissatisfaction of a part of 
the sufferers broke out into acts of violence, which 
threatened the safety of the whole army. Early in 
May, the Jersey brigade was ordered to march as part 
of a force destined on an expedition into the Indian 
country. On the reception of this order, the officers 
of the first regiment presented to their colonel a re- 
monstrance, addressed to the Legislature of the State, 
in which they professed the determination, unless that 
body immediately attended to their pay and support, 
within three days to resign their commissions. 

This resolution greatly disturbed the Commander- 
in-Chief. He foresaw its evil consequences, and on 
this important occasion determined to exert his per- 
sonal influence. In a letter to General Maxwell, to 
be communicated to the dissatisfied officers, he dis- 
suaded them by a sense of honor, and by the love of 
country, from the prosecution of the rash measure they 
had adopted. 

"There is nothing/' proceeds the letter, "which has 
happened in course of the war, that has given me so 
much pain as the remonstrance you mention from the 
officers of the first Jersey regiment. I cannot but con- 
sider it as a hasty and imprudent step, which on more 
cool consideration they will themselves condemn. I am 
very sensible of the inconveniences under which the 
officers of the army labor, and I hope they do me the 
justice to believe, that my endeavors to procure them 
relief are incessant. There is more difficulty, how- 
ever, in satisfying their wishes than perhaps they are 
aware of. Our resources have been hitherto very 



1779] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON 



205 



limited. The situation of our money is no small em- 
barrassment ; for which, though there are remedies, 
they cannot be the work of a moment. Government 
is not insensible of the merits and sacrifices of the 
officers, nor, I am persuaded, unwilling to make a 
compensation ; but it is a truth, of which a little ob- 
servation must convince us, that it is very much 
straitened in the means Great allowances ought to 
be made on this account for any delay and seeming 
backwardness which may appear. Some of the States 
indeed have done as generously as it is at this junc- 
ture in their power, and if others have been less ex- 
peditious, it ought to be ascribed to some peculiar 
cause, which a little time, aided by example, will re- 
move. The patience and perseverance of the army 
have been, under every disadvantage, such as to do 
them the highest honor, both at home and abroad, 
and have inspired me with an unlimited confidence 
in their virtue, which has consoled me amidst every 
perplexity and reverse of fortune, to which our affairs 
in a struggle of this nature were necessarily exposed. 
Now that we have made so great a progress to the 
attainment of the end we have in view r , so that we 
cannot fail without a most shameful desertion of our 
own interests, anything like a change of conduct 
would imply a very unhappy change of principles, and 
a forgetfulness as well of what we owe to ourselves as 
to our country. Did I suppose it possible this could 
be the case, even in a single regiment of the army, I 
should be mortified and chagrined beyond expression. 
I should feel it as a wound given to my own honor, 
which I consider as embarked with that of the army 
at large. But this I believe to be impossible. Any 
corps that was about to set an example of the kind, 



2c6 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1779 



would weigh well the consequences ; and no officer 
of common discernment and sensibility would hazard 
them. If they should stand alone in it, independent 
of other consequences, what would be their feelings 
on reflecting that they had held themselves out to the 
world in a point of light inferior to the rest of the 
army. Or if their example should be followed, and 
become general, how could they console themselves 
tor having been the foremost in bringing ruin and 
disgrace upon their country. They would remember 
that the army would share a double pcrtion of the 
general infamy and distress, and that the character of 
an American officer would become as despicable as 
it is now glorious. 

" I confess the appearances in the present instance 
are disagreeable ; but I am convinced they seem to 
mean more than they really do. The Jersey officers 
have not been outdone by any others in the qualities, 
either of citizens or soldiers ; and I am confident, no 
part of them would seriously intend anything that 
would be a stain on their former reputation. The 
gentlemen cannot be in earnest ; they have only rea- 
soned w r ron»g about the means of obtaining a good end, 
and on consideration, I hope and flatter myself they 
will renounce what must appear improper. At the 
opening of a campaign, when under marching orders 
for an important service, their own honor, duty to the 
public, and to themselves, and a regard to military 
propriety, will not suffer them to persist in a measure 
which would be a violation of them all. It will ever 
wound their delicacy, coolly to reflect, that they have 
hazarded a step which has an air of dictating terms to 
their country, by taking advantage of the necessity of 
the moment. 



i 7 79 ] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 207 

"The declaration they have made to the State, at 
so critical a time, that unless they obtain relief in the 
short period of three days, they must be considered 
out of the service, has very much that aspect ; and 
the seeming relaxation of continuing until the State 
can have a reasonable time to provide other officers, 
will be thought only a superficial veil. I am now to 
request that you will convey my sentiments to the 
gentlemen concerned, and endeavor to make them 
sensible that they are in an error. The service for 
which the regiment was intended will not admit of 
delay. It must at all events march on Monday morn- 
ing, in the first place to this camp, and further direc- 
tions will be given when it arrives. I am sure I shall 
not be mistaken in expecting a prompt and cheerful 
obedience." 

This letter made a deep impression upon the minds 
of the officers, but did not fully produce the desired 
effect. In an address to the Commander-in-Chief, 
they expressed their unhappiness, that any act of 
theirs should occasion him pain; but in justification 
of the measure they had adopted, they pleaded that 
their State government had paid no attention to their 
repeated petitions, that they were themselves loaded 
with debts, and that their families were starving. 
"At length," said they, "we have lost all confidence 
in our Legislature. Reason and experience forbid 
that we should have any. Few of us have private 
fortunes ; many of us have families who are already 
suffering everything that can be received from an un- 
grateful country. Are we then to suffer all the in- 
conveniences, fatigues, and dangers of a military life, 
while our wives and our children are perishing for 
want of necessaries at home ; and that without the 



2 o8 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1779, 

most distant prospect of reward, for our pay is only 
nominal ? We are sensible that your Excellency can- 
not wish nor desire this from us. 

" We are sorry that you should imagine we meant 
to disobey orders. It was and still is our determina- 
tion to march with our regiment, and to do the duty 
of officers, until the Legislature shall have a reason- 
able time to appoint others, but no longer. 

" We beg leave to assure your Excellency that we 
have the highest sense of your ability and virtue, that 
executing your orders has ever given us pleasure ; we 
love the service, and we love our country ; but when 
that country gets so lost to virtue and justice as to 
forget to support its servants, it then becomes their 
duty to retire from its service." 

This attempt in the officers to justify their conduct 
placed General Washington in a very critical and 
delicate situation. Severe measures, he apprehended, 
would probably drive the whole Jersey brigade from 
the service ; and to assume the exercise of the powers 
of Commander-in-Chief, and then recede without pro- 
ducing the effect, must hazard his own authority, and 
injure the discipline of the army. Under these em- 
barrassing circumstances, he prudently resolved to 
take no further notice of this address, than to notify 
the officers, through General Maxwell, that while they 
continued to do their duty, he should only regret the 
step they had taken, and hope that they themselves 
would perceive its impropriety. 

This alarming transaction the General communi- 
cated to Congress, and at the same time reminded 
them of his repeated and urgent entreaties in behalf 
of his officers. Some general provision for them he 
now recommended as a measure of absolute necessity. 



1779-1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 209 

" The distresses in some corps/' he observed, " are so 
great, either where they were not until lately attached 
to any particular State, or where the State has been 
less provident, that officers have solicited even to be 
supplied with the clothing destined for the common 
soldiers, course and unsuitable as it was. I had not 
power to comply with the request. 

" The patience of men animated by a sense of duty 
and honor, will support them to a certain point, be- 
yond which it will not go. I doubt not Congress 
will be sensible of the danger of an extreme in this 
respect, and will pardon my anxiety to obviate it." 

The regiment marched agreeably to orders, and the 
officers withdrew their remonstrance. The Legisla- 
ture took measures for their relief, and they continued 
in the service. 

The situation of the hostile armies not favoring 
active operations, Generals Washington planned an 
expedition into the Indian country. His experience 
while he commanded the troops of Virginia in the 
French war, convinced him, that the only effectual 
method to defend the frontiers from the destructive 
invasion of Indian foes, is to carry the war into their 
own country. To retaliate, in some measure, the 
cruelties the Indians had inflicted on the Americans, 
and to deter them from their repetition, General Sul- 
livan, the commanding officer, was ordered, on this 
occasion, to exercise a degree of severity, which, in 
the usual operations of war, was abhorrent to the 
humane disposition of the Commander-in-Chief. In 
the course of the summer months, General Sullivan 
successfully prosecuted the plan, and destroyed the 
Indian towns upon the northern boundary of the State 
of New York, 



2 IO 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1779. 



The disposable force of Sir Henry Clinton this 
year consisted of between sixteen and seventeen t ou- 
sand men. The troops under the immediate com- 
mand of General Washington amounted to about 
sixteen thousand. A view of the numbers of the two 
hostile armies is sufficient to show, that offensive 
operations against the strong posts of the British 
were not in the power of General Washington. The 
marine force, by which these posts were supported, 
facilitated the designs of the British commander in 
predatory expeditions upon the American shores and 
rivers ; but in the middle States, the campaign passed 
away without any military operations upon a large 
scale. The American General posted his troops in a 
situation the most favorable to protect the country 
from the excursions of the enemy, and to guard the 
Highlands on the North river. These Highlands 
were the object of the principal manoeuvres of the 
opposing generals, and the scene of some brilliant 
military achievements. 

West Point was now the chief post of the Ameri- 
cans on the Hudson. Here was their principal maga- 
zine of provisions and military stores. It was situated 
upon the western side of the river, in the bosom of 
the mountain, was difficult of approach, and its nat- 
ural strength had been increased by fortifications, 
although they were not completed. Lower down at 
the foot of the mountain is King's ferry, over which 
passes the great road from the eastern to the middle 
States. This ferry is commanded by the points of 
land on the two shores. The point on the west side 
is high, rough ground, and is called Stony Point. 
That on the east side is a low neck of land projecting 
into the river, and denominated Verplank's Point 



1779] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



211 



On each shore General Washington had erected for- 
tifications, and a small garrison under the command of 
a captain was placed in Verplank. 

Sir Henry Clinton, on the last of May, moved with 
the greater part of his force up the river towards 
these posts. On his approach Stony Point was eva- 
cuated ; but the celerity of his movements obliged 
the garrison at Verplank to surrender themselves 
prisoners of war. The possession of King's ferry 
could not have been the sole object of Sir Henry's 
movement ; his force was much greater than this pur- 
pose required. The possession of West Point was 
probably the ultimate design of the expedition ; but 
the excellent disposition of the American troops de- 
feated this intention of the British commander- 
Having fortified the positions of Stony Point and Ver- 
plank, and placed garrisons in them, Sir Henry re- 
turned with his army to New York. 

The Americans were subjected to great inconve- 
nience by the loss of King's ferry. To pass the 
North river, they were obliged to take a route by the 
way of Fishkill, through a rough and mountainous 
country, and the transportation of heavy articles for 
the army by this circuitous road became very tedious. 

General Washington was induced by a variety of 
motives to attempt the recovery of Stony and Ver- 
plank Points. The very attempt would recall the 
British detachments that were out on predatory ex- 
peditions. Success in the plan would give reputation 
to the American arms, reconcile the public mind to 
the plan of the campaign, and restore to the Amer- 
icans the convenient road across King's ferry. In 
pursuance of this intention, he reconnoitred the posts, 
and, as far as possible, gained information of the situ- 



212 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[i779« 



ation of the works, and of the strength of the garri- 
sons. The result was a plan to carry the posts by 
storm. The assault upon Stony Point was committed 
to General Wayne, and that no alarm might be given 
his force was to consist only of the light infantry of 
the army, which corps was already on the lines. The 
night of the 15th of July was assigned for the attack. 
The works were strong, and could be approached only 
by a narrow passage over a piece of marshy ground* 
and the garrison consisted of six hundred men. 
About midnight the troops moved up to the works 
through a heavy fire of artillery and musketry, and 
without the discharge of a single gun, carried them at 
the point of the bayonet. The Americans, on this oc- 
casion, displayed their usual humanity ; they put not 
an individual to the sword after resistance ceased. 

The loss of the Americans in the assault was in- 
considerable, compared with the nature of the service. 
Their killed and wounded did not exceed one hundred 
men. General Wayne received a wound on the head 
which, for a short time stunned him ; but he insisted 
upon entering the fort, which by the support of his 
aids he accomplished. Sixty-three of the ganison 
were killed and sixty-eight wounded, and five hundred 
and forty-three made prisoners. Military stores to 
some amount were found in the fort. 

General Howe was entrusted with the execution of 
the design against Verplank ; but through a number 
of unfortunate incidents, to which military operations 
are always liable, it miscarried, 

Stony Point alone did not give the Americans the 
use of King's ferry, Sir Henry Clinton immediately 
moved up the North river with a large force to recover 
the post, and General Washington, not thinking it 



I779-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 2I3 

expedient to take from his army the number of troops 
necessary to garrison it, destroyed the works and 
retired to the Highlands. General Clinton erected 
the fort anew, with superior fortifications, and placed 
a respectable garrison in it, under the command of a 
brigadier-general. 

Congress embraced this occasion, by an unanimous 
resolve, to thank General Washington for the wis- 
dom, vigilance, and magnanimity, with which he con- 
ducted the military operations of the nation, and par- 
ticularly for the enterprise upon Stony Point. They 
also unanimously voted their thanks to General Wayne 
for his brave and soldier-like attack, and presented 
him with a gold medal emblematical of the action ; and 
they highly commended the coolness, discipline, and 
persevering bravery of the officers and men in the 
spirited assault. 

During this summer, Spain joined France in the 
war against England. General Washington, expect- 
ing substantial aid from these powers, and unwilling 
to waste any part of his small force in partial actions 
contented himself with the defence of the country 
from the depredations of the enemy, that he might be 
in readiness, with the greatest possible numbers, to 
co-operate with the allies of America in an attack 
upon the British posts. But the fond hope of effective 
aid from France proved delusive ; and the expectation 
that the war would this season terminate, failed. 

Effectual measures were not yet adopted by Con- 
gress to establish a permanent army. The officers 
generally remained in service, but a great proportion 
of the privates were annually to be recruited. By the 
delays of the General and State governments, the 
recruits were never seasonably brought into the field. 



2i 4 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1779 

&t different periods they joined the army ; and fre- 
quently men totally unacquainted with every branch 
of military service, were introduced in the most critical 
part of an active campaign. 

At the close of this year, General Washington, 
not discouraged by all his former unavailing endeavors, 
once more addressed Congress on this subject, which 
he deemed essential to the welfare of the Union. In 
October he forwarded to that body a minute report of 
the state of the army, by which it appeared, that 
between that time and the last of June the next yean 
the time of service of one-half the privates would 
expire. 

With the report he submitted a plan by which the 
recruits of all the States were to be raised and brought 
to head-quarters by the middle of January of each year ? 
that time might be given in some measure to discipline 
them before the campaign opened. 

" The plan I would propose," says the General in 
the address, " is that each State be informed by Con- 
gress annually of the real deficienc\ of its troops, and 
called upon to make it up, or such less specific number 
as Congress may think proper, by a draft. That the 
men drafted join the army by the first of January the 
succeeding year. That from the time the drafts join 
the army, the officers of the States from which they 
come be authorized and directed to use their endeavors 
to enlist them for the war, under the bounties granted 
to the officers themselves and the recruits, by the act 
of the 23d of January last, viz., ten dollars to the 
officer for each recruit, and two hundred to the re- 
cruits themselves. That all state, county, and town 
bounties to drafts, if practicable, be entirely abolished, 
on account of the uneasiness and disoiders they create 



I779-] LI FE CF WASHINGTON 2IS 

among the soldiery, the desertions they produce, and 
for other reasons which will readily occur. That on 
or before the 1st of October annually, an abstractor 
return, similar to the present one, be transmitted to 
Congress, to enable them to make their requisitions to 
each State with certainty and precision. This I would 
propose as a general plan to be pursued ; and I am 
persuaded that this or one nearly similar to it, will be 
found the best now in our power, as it will be attended 
with least expense to the public, will place the service 
on the footing of order and certainty, and will be the 
only one that can advance the general interest to any 
great extent." 

This judicious plan was never carried into effect. 
Congress did not make the requisition until Febru- 
ary, and the States were not called upon to bring 
their recruits into the field before the 1st of April. 
Thirteen sovereign States, exercising their respective 
independent authorities to form a federal army, were 
always tardy in time, and deficient in the number of 
men. 

On the approach of the inclement season, the army 
again built themselves huts for winter quarters. 
Positions were chosen the most favorable for the 
defence of the American posts, and for covering the 
country. The army was formed into two divisions. 
One of these erected huts near West Point, and the 
other at Morristown in New Jersey. The head- 
quarters of the Commander-in-Chief were with the 
last division. 

Great distress was felt this winter on account of 
the deranged state of the American finances. General 
Green and Colonel Wadsworth, gentlemen in every 
respect qualified for the duties of their respective 



2i6 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1779. 

stations, were yet at the head of the Quartermaster 
and Commissary departments, but the credit of the 
country was fallen, they had not the means to make 
prompt payment for articles of supply ; and they found 
it impossible to lay up large magazines of provisions 
and extremely difficult to obtain supplies to satisfy the 
temporary wants of the army. 

The evil was increased by a new arrangement 
introduced by Congress into the Commissary depart- 
ment. A fixed salary in the depreciated currency of 
the country was given to the Commissary-General, and 
he was authorized to appoint a certain number of 
deputies, whose stipends were also established, and to 
whom no emolument of office was allowed. Deputies 
competent to the business could not be obtained upon 
the terms established* by Congress, confusion and 
derangement ensued through the whole department, 
and in consequence Colonel Wadsworth was con- 
strained to resign his office. 

Before the month of January expired, the soldiers 
were put upon allowance, and before its close, the 
whole stock of provision in store was exhausted, and 
there was neither meat nor flour to be distributed to 
the troops. To prevent the dissolution of the army^ 
the Commander-in-Chief was reluctantly driven to 
very vigorous measures. He apportioned upon each 
county in the State of New Jersey a quantity of meat 
and flour, according to the ability of each, to be brought 
into camp in the course of six days. At the same 
time he wrote to the magistrates, stating the absolute 
necessity of the measure, and informing them, that 
unless the inhabitants voluntary complied with the 
requisition, the exigency of the case would force him 
to obtain it by military exaction. To the honor of the 



1779] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 217 

inhabitants of New Jersey, harassed as their country 
had been, the full quantity of provision required was 
cheerfully and seasonably afforded. 

To Congress General Washington expressed his 
sense of the heroic patience with which the troops bore 
the privations of clothing and provisions through this 
winter of unusual severity. The extent of these pri- 
vations will be seen in an extract of a letter written 
by the Commander-in-Chief to his friend General 
^Schuyler : — 

" Since the date of my last we have had the virtue 
and patience of the army put to the severest trial. 
Sometimes it has been five or six days together with- 
out bread ; at other times, as many days without meat ; 
and once or twice, two or three days, without either. 
I hardly thought it possible, at one period, that we 
should be able to keep it together, nor could it have 
been done, but for the exertions of the magistrates in 
the several counties of this State, on whom I was 
obliged to call, expose our situation to them, and in 
plain terms declare that we were reduced to the alter- 
native of disbanding or catering for ourselves, unless 
the inhabitants would afford us their aid, I allotted 
to each county a certain proportion of flour or grain, 
and a certain number of cattle, to be delivered on cer- 
tain days, and for the honor of the magistrates and 
good disposition -of the people, I must add, that my 
requisitions were punctually complied with, and in 
many counties exceeded. Nothing but this great 
exertion could have saved the army from dissolution 
or starving, as we were bereft of every hope from the 
commissaries. At one time, the soldiers eat every 
kind of horse food but hay. Buckwheat, common 
wheat, rye, and Indian corn, composed the meal which 



2l8 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1779- 



made their bread. As an army they bore it with the 
most heroic patience ; but sufferings like these accom- 
panied with the want of clothes, blankets, &c, will 
produce frequent desertion in all armies, and so it 
happened with us, though it did not incite a single 
mutiny." 

The frost of this winter was excessive. For six 
weeks together, the waters about New York were 
covered with ice, of sufficient thickness to admit the 
passage of large armies with wagons and the heaviest^ 
pieces of artillery. The city, of consequence, in many 
places, became assailable. The vigilant and active 
mind of General Washington, with mortification, 
saw an opportunity to attack his enemy which he was 
unable to embrace. The British force in New York, 
in numbers, exceeded his own, and the want of cloth- 
ing and provision rendered it impossible to move his 
troops upon an extensive enterprise. An attempt to 
surprise a post on Staten Island failed. 



i 7 8o.] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



219 



CHAPTER VII. 

Amount of Paper Emission — Congress destitute of Means to 
support the War — Supplies apportioned upon the States — Ex- 
ertions of the Commander-in-Chief — Mutiny in a part of the 
Army — The British make an Excursion into New Jersey — 
The American Troops bravely resist them — The Court of 
France promises a Naval and Land Armament to act in Amer- 
ica — Preparation to co-operate with it — A French Squadron 
arrives on the American Coast — Count Rochambeau lands at 
Newport with five thousand Men — The American and French 
Commanders meet at Hartford to settle the Plan of the Cam- 
paign — The second Division of the French Troops fails — Gen 
eral Arnold becomes a Traitor — He corresponds with Major 
Andre — Andre comes on Shore at West Point — Attempts to 
return to New York by land — He is taken into Custody bv 
three Militia Men — A Board of General Officers condemn 
him — He is executed — Letter of General Washington on the 
State of the army — Congress adopts a Military Establishment 
for the War — The Army goes into Winter-Quarters. 

1780. Two hundred millions of dollars in paper 
currency were at this time in circulation, upon the 
credit of the United States. Congress had the pre- 
ceding year solemnly pledged the faith of government 
not to emit more than this sum. The National Treas- 
ury was empty. The requisitions of Congress for 
money by taxes, assessed by the authority of the 
States, were slowly complied with, and the supplies of 
money in this way obtained bore no proportion to the 
expenses of the war. 

A novel state of things was in consequence intro- 
duced. Congress, the head of the nation., had no 



220 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [17S0 

command of the resources of the country. The 
power of taxation, and of every coercive measure of 
government, rested with the State sovereignties. 
The onlv power left with the National Council was, 
to apportion supplies of provision for the army, as 
well as recruits of men, upon the several States. 

The military establishment for 1780, consisted of 
thirty-five thousand, two hundred and eleven men. 
No portion of these was to be raised by the authority 
of Congress, but in the whole transaction an absolute 
dependence was placed on the agency of the States. 
Upon the States also specific articles of provision, 
spirits and forage, were apportioned for the subsist- 
ence of the army. Congress gave assurances that 
accurate accounts should be kept, and resolved, 
" That any State which shall have taken the neces- 
sary measures for furnishing its quota, and have given 
notice thereof to Congress, shall be authorized to pro- 
hibit any Continental quartermaster, or commissary 
from purchasing within its limits. n 

General Washington greatly lamented the neces- 
sity of managing the war by State authorities. He 
freely suggested to Congress the defects of their sys- 
tem, defects which would prevent the attainment of 
competent and seasonable supplies for the troops. 
The estimate, he observed, in all articles was below 
the ordinary demand, the time of reception was left 
in a vague manner, and no provision was made for ex- 
traordinary exigencies. No means were adopted to 
obtain for the use of the army any surplus of produce, 
which a particular State might conveniently supply, 
beyond its apportionment ; but a State under this pre- 
dicament was authorized to prohibit the National Com- 
missary from purchasing such surplusage, whatever 



i 7 So.] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



22 1 



might be the public wants. To a friend in Congress, 
he in a private letter thus freely expressed his opinion: 
" Certain I am, that unless Congress speaks in a 
more decisive tone ; unless they are vested with pow- 
ers by the several States, competent to the great pur- 
poses of the war, or assume them as matter of right, 
and they and the States respectively act with more 
energy than they hitherto have done, that our cause 
is lost. We can no longer drudge on in the old way. 
By ill timing the adoption of measures, by delays in 
the execution of them, or by unwarrantable jealousies, 
we incur enormous expenses, and derive no benefit 
from them. One State will comply with a requisition 
from Congress, another neglects to do it, and a third 
executes it by halves, and all differ in the manner, the 
matter, or so much in point of time, that we are always 
working up hill ; and, while such a system as the pres- 
sent one, or rather want of one prevails, we ever shall 
be unable to apply our strength or resources to any 
advantage. 

"This, my dear sir, is plain language to a member 
of Congress, but it is the language of truth and friend- 
ship. It is the result of long thinking, close applica- 
tion, and strict observation. I see one head gradually 
changing into thirteen. I see one army branching 
into thirteen ; and instead of looking up to Congress 
as the supreme controlling power of the United States, 
considering themselves as dependent on their respec- 
tive States. In a word, I see the power of Congress 
declining too fast for the consequence and respect 
which are due to thern as the great representative 
body of America, and am fearful of the consequences." 

Although General Washington had weighty objec- 
tions to the plan of Congress, he exerted himself 



222 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[i "So. 



to carry it into effect. His personal influence was 
greater than that of any other man in the Union, and 
this new order of things required its full exercise. 
He wrote to the Executives and Legislatures of the 
several States, stating the critical situation of public 
affairs, pointing out the fatal consequences that must 
flow from the inattention and neglect of those who 
alone possessed the power of coercion, and urging 
them by all the motives of patriotism and self-interest 
to comply with the requisitions of Congress. But each 
of the States felt its own burdens, and was dilatory in 
its efforts to promote a general interest. A system, 
which in its execution required the conjoint agency 
of thirteen sovereignties, was two complex for the 
prompt operations of a military body. 

In the course of the winter forage had failed, and 
many of the horses attached to the army had died, or 
were rendered unfit for use. General Washington 
therefore struggled with almost insuperable difficul- 
ties in supplying the army. He possessed no means 
to transport provisions from a distance but by impress- 
ment, and to this painful and oppressive mode he was 
obliged frequently to recur. The unbounded confi- 
dence placed in his patriotism, wisdom, and prudence, 
enabled him to carry these measures into effect 
among a people tenacious of individual rights, and 
jealous of the encroachment of power. 

The pay of the officers of the army had scarcely 
more than a nominal value. They were unable to 
support the appearance of gentlemen, or to furnish 
themselves with the conveniences which their situa- 
tion required. The pride essential to the soldier was 
deeply wounded, general dissatisfaction manifested it- 
self, and increased the perplexities of the Commander- 



1780.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 223 

in-Chief. The officers of whole lines belonging to 
some of the States in a b9<iy gave notice that on a 
certain day they should resign their commissions, un- 
less provision was made for their honorable support. 
The animated representation of the danger of this 
rash measure to that country in whose service they 
had heroically suffered, induced them to proffer their 
services as volunteers until their successors should 
be appointed. This, their General without hesitation 
rejected, and the officers reluctantly consented to re- 
main in the army. 

A statement of the great difficulties which the Gen. 
eral encountered led Congress to depute a committee 
of their body to camp, to consult with him upon meas- 
ures necessary to be adopted to remove the griev- 
ances of the army. This committee reported, " That 
the army was unpaid for five months ; that it seldom 
had more than six days' provision in advance, and was 
on seyeral occasions for several successive days, with- 
out meat ; that the army was destitute of forage ; that 
the medical department had neither sugar, tea, choco- 
late, wine, or spirituous liquors of any kind ; that 
every department of the army was without money, 
and had not even the shadow of credit left ; that the 
patience of the soldiers, borne down by the pressure 
of complicated sufferings, was on the point of being 
exhausted." 

Congress possessed not the means to apply ade- 
quate remedies to these threatening evils. They 
passed a resolution, which was all they could do, 
"That Congress will make good to the line of the 
army, and to the independent corps thereof, the de- 
ficiencies of their original pay, which had been occa- 
sioned by the depreciation of the Continental cur- 



224 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1780. 



rency ; and that money or other articles heretofore 
received, should be considered as advanced on ac- 
count, to be comprehended in the settlement finally 
to be made." This resolution was published in gen- 
eral orders, and produced a good effect; but did not 
remove the complaints of officers or men. The prom- 
ise of future compensation from a country whose ne- 
glect was conceived to be the source of all their suffer- 
ing, they deemed a feeble basis of dependence, at the 
moment they were severely pressed by privations of 
every kind. 

Murmurs at length broke out into actual 
March mu tiny. Two of the Connecticut regiments 
paraded under arms, announcing the intention 
to return home, or by their arms to obtain subsistence. 
The other regiments from Connecticut, although they 
did not join in the revolt, exhibited no inclination to 
aid in suppressing the mutineers, but by the spirited 
and prudent exertions of the officers, the ringleaders 
were secured, and the regiments brought back to 
their duty. 

The perplexities of a general, who commands an 
army in this situation, are not to be described. When 
the officers represented to the soldiers the greatness 
of the cause in which they were engaged, and stated 
the late resolution of Congress in their favor, they 
answered, that for five months they had received no 
pay, and that the depreciated state of the currency 
would render their pay of no value when received; 
they wanted present relief, and not promises of dis- 
tant compensation ; their sufferings were too great to 
be supported ; and they must have immediate and 
substantial recompense for their services, To the 
complaints of the army were joined murmurs of the 



1780.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 225 

inhabitants of New Jersey, on account of the frequent 
requisitions unavoidably made upon them. 

These disaffections were carried to New York with 
the customary exaggerations of rumor. General 
Knyphausen, the commanding officer at that post, 
supposing the American citizens and soldiers ripe for 
revolt, passed over into New Jersey with five thou- 
sand men, to avail himself of favorable events, 
and probably with the intention to drive Gen- June 6. 
eral Washington from his camp at Morris- 
town. He took the road to Springfield, and the be- 
havior of the Americans soon convinced him he had 
been deceived in the report of their disaffected and 
mutinous disposition. The troops detached from the 
army to oppose his progress fought with obstinate 
bravery ; and the inhabitants, seizing their arms with 
alacrity, emulated the spirit and persevering courage 
of the regular soldier. The enemy, finding he must 
encounter serious opposition, halted at Connecticut 
Farms, consigned most of the buildings of that village 
to the flames, and then retreated to Elizabeth Point, 
opposite to Staten Island. 

While General Knyphausen lay at Elizabeth Point, 
Sir Henry Clinton, with four thousand men, returned 
from the conquest of Charleston, South Carolina, and 
joined him at that place. On the 23d of June, Sir 
Henry moved, by different routes, five thousand in- 
fantry, and a large body of cavalry, with twenty pieces 
of artillery, towards Springfield. General Washing- 
t >n supposed that his determined object was the de- 
s ruction of the American camp and stores at ilorris- 
town. The effective force at this time under his im- 
mediate command amounted to little more than three 
thousand men. Not being able to contend with the 

15 



226 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



enemy, but with the advantage of ground, he made 
the best disposition of his small force to defend his 
post, and detached General Green with a thousand 
men to guard the defiles on the road, and particularly 
to dispute the enemy's passage of the bridge near 
Springfield. This service was performed with great 
military judgment, and with the spirit and efficacy of 
disciplined courage. When overpowered by numbers, 
General Green drew up his brave band on the heights 
back of Springfield. Sir Henry Clinton was not dis- 
posed to attack him in his strong position, or to en- 
counter the danger of proceeding to Morristown, and 
leaving Green in his rear ; he therefore relinquished 
the object of his expedition, and, burning the town of 
Springfield, returned to New York. 

General Washington keenly felt this insult offered 
to his country, and was deeply mortified at his inabil- 
ity to repel it. In a letter to a friend he observed : 
" You but too well know, and will regret with me, the 
cause which justifies this insulting manoeuvre on the 
part of the enemy, It deeply affects the honor of the 
States, a vindication of which could not be attempted 
in our present circumstances, without most intimately 
hazarding their security ; as least so far as it may de- 
pend on the security of the army. Their character, 
their interest, their all that is dear, call upon them, in 
the most pressing manner, to place the army immedi- 
ately on a respectable footing." 

Late in the spring the Marquis La Fayette returned 
from France with the pleasing intelligence that his 
government had resolved to assist the United States, 
by employing, this year, a respectable land and naval 
force in America. 

This grateful information re-animated the public 



1780.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 227 

mind, and gave a new stimulus to the agency of Con- 
gress, and of the governments of the several States, 
that preparation might be made to co-operate with 
the French armament on its arrival. 

This event excited anew in the breast of the Com- 
mander-in-Chief the mingled emotions of ambition 
and patriotism. His country having solicited foreign 
aid, he felt the disgrace she must suffer, should the 
allies find her in a situation not to second their 
friendly assistance. He anticipated the deep wound 
that would be inflicted on his own feelings, should the 
French commanders find him the nominal head of a 
naked, destitute, and inefficient army. To prevent 
the evils that were apprehended, he addressed a circu- 
lar letter to the governments of the States, urging 
them to exertions proportionate to the present pros- 
pect of their country, and painting to their view the 
picture of dishonor and ruin that must arise from the 
neglect to improve this prosperous tide in their affairs. 

Vigorous measures were in consequence adopted 
by Congress and by the States to recruit the army, to 
lay up magazines, and to enable their General to com- 
ply with the reasonable expectations of their allies ; 
but the agency of different bodies was necessary to 
carry these public measures into effect, and their op- 
eration was dilatory. On the 20th of June General 
Washington informed Congress that the army was 
yet destitute of many essential articles of clothing. 
u For the troops," he observed, " to be without cloth- 
ing at any time is highly injurious to the service, and 
distressing to our feelings ; but the want will be more 
peculiarly mortifying when they come to act with our 
allies. If it be possible, I have no doubt immediate 
measures will be taken to relieve their distresses. 



228 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



1780. 



" It is also most sincerely to be wished tftat there 
#ould be some supplies of clothing furnished to the 
officers. There are a great many whose condition is 
still miserable. This is, in some instances, the case 
with the whole lines of wStates. It would be well for 
their own sakes, and for the public good, if they 
could be furnished. They will not be able, when our 
friends come to co-operate with us, to go on a com- 
mon routine of duty ; and if they should, they must, 
from their appearance, he held in low estimation." 

In the near prospect of the arrival of the French 
armaments, the embarrassments of General Wash- 
ington increased. His army was not yet in a situ- 
ation to co-operate with the allies, and he became ex- 
tremely anxious to know the force on which he might 
absolutely depend. He wished to attack New York 
if the means were in his power. But to concert an 
attack upon this post with the French commanders, 
and in the event be unable to execute his part of the 
engagement, he knew woul dishonor the American 
arms, and expose the French marine force employed 
in the service to destruction. Should prudence for- 
bid an attempt upon New York, his force might be 
competent to assail some other British post, and it 
was highly expedient that the plan should be ripened, 
and all measures prepared for immediate action, the 
moment the French detachments should reach the 
continent. The anxiety of the Commander-in-Chief 
on this subject was disclosed in the following letter 
to Congress : — 

" The season has come when we have every reason 
to expect the arrival of the fleet, and yet for want of 
this point of primary consequence it is impossible for 



1780.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 229 

me to form a system of co-operation. I have no basis 
to act upon ; and of course, were this generous suc- 
cor of our ally now to arrive, I should find myself in 
the most awkward, embarrassing, and painful situa- 
tion. The General, and the admiral, from the rela- 
tion in which I stand, as soon as they approach our 
coast, will require of me a plan of the measures to be 
pursued, and there ought of right to be one prepared ; 
but circumstanced as I am I cannot even give them 
conjectures. From these considerations, I have sug- 
gested to the committee, by a letter I had the honor 
of addressing them yesterday, the indispensable neces- 
sity of their writing again to the States, urging them 
to give immediate and precise information of the 
measure they have taken, and of the result. The in- 
terest of the States, the honor and reputation of our 
councils, the justice and gratitude due to our allies, 
all require that I should without delay be enabled to 
ascertain, and inform them what we can or cannot 
undertake. There is a point which ought now to be 
determined, on the success of which all our future 
operations may depend, on which for want of know- 
ing our prospects, I can make no decision, for fear of 
involving the fleet and army of our allies in circum- 
stances which would expose them, if not seconded by 
us, to material inconvenience and hazard. I shall be 
compelled to suspend it, and the delay may be fatal 
to our hopes." 

Congress had assured the French minister that 
they would bring, this campaign, twenty-five thousand 
men into the field; that to these such detachments 
of militia should be added as to make a force com- 
petent, when supported by a naval armament, to at- 
tack any of the British posts. They had also engaged 



230 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1780. 

to lay up magazines of provisions adequate to the de- 
mands of the armies of the United States, and of any 
division of French troops, acting in concert with 
them. On this account the deficiencies of the army 
lay with the more galling weight upon the mind of 
General Washington. 

While he was revolving this important subject, Sir 
Henry Clinton and Admiral Arbuthnot returned from 
South Carolina to New York, whose garrison now 
consisted of eleven thousand regular troops. The 
prospect of successful operations against this post was 
by the event greatly diminished. In the absence of 
the British armament it had been proposed by the 
American commander, that the French fleet should 
as soon as it reached the American coast, block up 
the harbor of New York, and co-operate with the 
army in the attack upon that place. But in this 
change of circumstances, he conceived it advisable 
that the French squadron should enter the harbor of 
Newport, land their troops, and there wait until a plan 
of joint operation should be formed. 

At length the first division of French 
July 10. troops reached the American shore, consist- 
ing of between five and six thousand men, 
with a large train of battering and field artillery. 
These forces were commanded by Count de Rocham- 
beau, whose government had placed him under the com- 
mand of General Washington. The Count brought 
information, that a second division would follow him 
as soon as transports could be fitted to bring them. 

The principal French and American officers as- 
siduously cultivated a mutual affection between the 
two armies; and the Commander-in-Chief recom- 
mended to the officers of the United States to ingraft 



17S0] LIFE OF WASHINGTON; 231 

on the American cockade, a white relief, as an em- 
blem of the alliance of the two powers. 

At the arrival of the French, the Americans were 
unprepared to act with them, nor did the American 
General know what force would ultimately be brought 
into the field. But it became necessary for him to 
make arrangements with the French commanders for 
offensive opt a ions against the enemy, on the arrival 
of the reinforcements. In this weighty transaction, 
he consulted the honor and interest of the United 
States, rather than the existing condition of his army. 
Confiding in the successful efforts that his country- 
men would on this occasion make, he communicated 
to Count de Rochambeau his intention to comply 
with the engagements into which Congress had 
entered with the Court of Versailles. 

The solicitude of the General on this subject, ap- 
pears in the following communication, which at the 
time he made to the President of Congress : " Pressed 
on all sides by a choice of difficulties, in a moment 
which required decision, I have adopted that line of 
conduct which comported with the dignity and faith 
of Congress ; the reputation of these States, and the 
honor of our arms. I have sent on definite proposals 
of co-operation to the French General and Admiral. 
Neither the period of the season nor a regard to 
decency would permit delay. The die is cast ; and 
it remains with the States either to fulfil their en- 
gagements, preserve their credit, and support their in- 
dependence, or to involve us in disgrace and defeat. 
Notwithstanding the failure pointed out by the com- 
mittee, I shall proceed on the supposition that they 
will ultimately consult their own interest and honor, 
pud not to suffer us to fail for the want of means 



232 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1780. 

which it is evidently in their power to afford. What 
has been done, and is doing by some of the States, 
confirms the opinion I have entertained of sufficient 
resources in the country. Of the disposition of the 
people to submit to any arrangements for bringing 
them forth, I see no reasonable ground to doubt. If 
we fail for the want of proper exertions in any of the 
governments, I trust the responsibility will fall where 
it ought; and that I shall stand justified to Congress, 
my country, and the world." 

The plan of joint operation was formed upon the 
presumption, that the French would maintain a naval 
superiority in the American sea. But soon after the 
arrival of the French, the British on this station were 
reinforced by a squadron superior to that which con- 
veyed the troops of His Most Christian Majesty. Sir 
Henry Clinton and Admiral Greaves contemplated an 
attack upon the French in their new station, and after 
great delay, six thousand troops of the flower of their 
army were embarked, and supported by the fleet, sailed 
to Huntingdon Bay. But the commanders here learn- 
ing the improved state of the fortifications at Newport, 
laid aside the expedition. During these movements 
General Washington collected his force, and crossed 
the North river, with the intention to attack New 
York, should the British General proceed in his 
attempt against the French. He confidently expected 
in this case to establish himself in some commanding 
position, which would not only compel General Clinton 
to abandon his enterprise, but also facilitate the success 
of his operations against the city. The return of Sir 
Henry induced the American General to recross into 
New Jersey, and to post his army at Orangetown. To 
expedite the meditated operation against New York, 



1780.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 233 

he also took possession of ground about Dobb's ferry, 
ten miles above King's bridge, and erected works to 
command the river. 

The offensive measures to be pursued by the allies 
were suspended upon the event of the French naval 
force in America being reinforced. General Wash- 
ington exerted himself to be in the best state of prep- 
aration, to embrace any opportunity that might pre- 
sent to annoy the enemy. 

At this critical moment, Congress, against the 
remonstrance of the Commander-in-Chief, and all his 
general officers, introduced those essential changes 
in the Quartermaster-General's department, which in- 
duced General Green to resign the office of Quarter- 
master. Colonel Pickering was appointed his succes- 
sor, who, in the full exercise of a mind, judicious, 
active, and indefatigable, found it impossible to execute 
the business of the department on the plan of Congress. 

The stores of the Commissary failing, General 
Washington was obliged to open and exhaust the 
magazines of West Point, and to forage upon the 
already distressed inhabitants of the country, in the 
neighborhood of his camp. These deficiencies at the 
moment that brilliant achievements were generally 
expected, gave a presage of disappointment. 

The second French armament was daily expected^ 
and General Washington had ordered a large body 
of militia into the field ; but the difficulty of procuring 
subsistence led him to countermand the order for their 
march to camp, although their aid would be essential 
in the event of active operations. 

The American and French commanders 
Sept. 21. me t a t Hartford to complete the general 
system of subsequent operations, and they agreed 



234 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1780 

to direct their offensive measures against the British 
post in New York. 

While expectations of immediate and effectual aid 
from France were entertained through the United 
States, information was brought, that the second 
armament destined for America was blocked up in the 
harbor of Brest, and would not this season reach the 
American continent. The flattering prospect of ter- 
minating the war by the conquest of the British posts 
in a moment vanished ; and elevated views of brilliant 
success were succeeded by disappointment and chagrin 
General Washington himself had admitted the per- 
suasion, that the campaign would end in a decisive 
manner ; and he felt the deepest mortification at its 
failure. " We are," he observed in a letter to a friend, 
" now drawing to a close an inactive campaign, the 
beginning of which appeared pregnant with events of 
a very favorable complexion. I hoped, but I hoped in 
vain, that a prospect was opening which would enable 
me to fix a period to my military pursuits, and restore 
me to domestic life. The favorable disposition of 
Spain, the promised succor from France, the combined 
force in the West Indies, the declaration of Russia 
(acceded to by other powers of Europe, humiliating to 
the naval pride and power of Great Britain), the 
superiority of France and Spain by sea in Europe, the 
Irish claims and English disturbances, formed in the 
aggregate, an opinion in my breast which is not very 
susceptible of peaceful dreams, that the hour of deliver- 
ance was not far distant ; for that however unwilling 
Great Britain might be to yield the point, it would not 
be in her power to continue the contest. But, alas ! 
these prospects, flattering as they were, have proved 
delusory ; and I see nothing before us but accumu' 



i 7 8o.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 235 

lating distress. We have been half of our time with- 
out provisions, and are likely to continue so. We 
have no magazines, nor money to form them. We 
have lived upon expedients, until we can live no longer. 
In a word, the history of the war is a history of false 
hopes and temporary devices, instead of system and 
economy. It is vain, however, to look back, nor is it 
our business to do so. Our case is not desperate, if 
virtue exists in the people, and there is wisdom among 
our rulers. But to suppose that this great revolution 
can be accomplished by a temporary army ; that this 
army will be subsisted by State supplies, and that 
taxation alone is adequate to our wants, is in my 
opinion absurd, and as unreasonable as to expect an 
inversion of the order of nature to accommodate itself 
to our views. If it were necessary, it would be easily 
proved to any person of a moderate understanding, 
that an annual army, or any army raised on the spur 
of the occasion, besides being unqualified for the end 
designed, is, in various ways which could be enu- 
merated, ten times more expensive than a permanent 
body of men under good organization and military 
discipline ; which never was, nor ever will be, the case 
with new troops. A thousand arguments, resulting 
from experience and the nature of things might also 
be adduced to prove that the army, if it is to depend 
on State supplies, must disband or starve ; and that 
taxation alone (especially at this late hour) cannot 
furnish the means to carry on the war. Is it not time 
to retract from error, and benefit from experience ? 
or do we want further proof of the ruinous system we 
have pertinaciously adhered to ? " 

At the time the country was exhausting its re- 
sources, and General Washington, under innumera- 



236 LJFE OF WASHINGTON. [1780. 

ble embarrassments, exerting every power to obtain 
an honorable peace, treason entered the stronghold 
of independence, and planned the destruction of the 
infant States of America. General Arnold early and 
warmly embraced the American cause. His enter- 
prising spirit, his invincible fortitude, his heroic and 
persevering ardor in battle, had exalted his military 
character in his own country and in Europe. Being 
incapacitated for the duties of the field, by the wounds 
he received before Quebec and at Saratoga, he was 
appointed commandant in Philadelphia, when the 
British evacuated that city. In this flattering com- 
mand, he adopted a style of living above his means, 
and soon found himself loaded with debt. To relieve 
himself he entered into various schemes of specula- 
tion, and was unsuccessful in all. Hollow at heart, 
he had recourse to fraud and peculation. These 
practices rendered him odious to the citizens, and gave 
offence to government. At length formal complaints 
were lodged against him ; and Congress ordered his 
trial by a court-martial. By this court he was found 
guilty, and sentenced to be reprimanded by the Com- 
mander-in-Chief. The sentence was approved by 
Congress, and carried into execution by General 
Washington. In the gold that was to reward his 
treason, Arnold expected relief from his pecuniary 
embarrassments ; and his implacable spirit sought its 
revenge of his country by betraying into the hand of 
her enemy the post that had been called the Gibraltar 
of America. 

West Point was the first post in importance within 
the United States. Its great natural strength had 
been increased by every expense and labor of f ortifica^ 
tion ; and it was an object on which General Wash- 



1780.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 237 

ington perpetually kept his eye. This fortress 
Arnold selected to give consequence to his apostacy. 
By the surrender of this into the hands of the British 
commander he expected to ensure a high price for his 
treason, and at the same moment to inflict a mortal 
wound upon his country. His measures were artfully 
adopted to accomplish his perfidious purpose. He 
obtained a letter from a member of Congress to 
General Washington, recommending him to the 
command of this important post. He induced 
General Schuyler to mention to the Commander-in- 
Chief his desire to rejoin the army, and his inclina- 
tion to do garrison duty. 

At the time General Washington was moving 
down to New York, when Sir Henry Clinton had em- 
barked a large body of troops, with the design to 
attack the French in Newport, he offered the com- 
mand of the left wing of the army to General Arnold, 
who declined on the plea that his wound unfitted him 
for the active duties of the field ; but he intimated a 
desire to command at West Point. Knowing his 
ambition for military fame, the General was surprised 
that Arnold declined this favorable opportunity to 
distinguish himself ; but the purity of his own mind 
forbade him to suspect an officer of treason, whose 
blood had been freely shed in the cause of his country, 
and he gratified him with the solicited command. 

Under fictitious names, and in the disguise of mer- 
cantile business, Arnold had already open a corre- 
spondence with Sir Henry Clinton through Major 
Andre, Adjutant-General of the British army. To 
him the British General committed the maturing of 
Arnold's treason, and to facilitate measures for its 
execution, the Vulture sloop-of-war conveyed him up 



238 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1780. 

the North river. Under a pass for John Anderson, 
Andre came on shore in the night, and had a personal 
interview with Arnold without the American works 
The morning opened upon them before their business 
was accomplished. Arnold told Andre that his return 
on board the Vulture by daylight was impracticable, 
and he must be concealed until the next night. For 
this purpose he was conducted within an American 
post, and spent the day with Arnold. In the course 
of the day a gun was brought to bear on the Vulture, 
which obliged her to shift her station ; and at night 
the boatmen on this account refused to carry Andr£ 
on board the sloop. 

The return to New York by land, was the only 
alternative left. To render the attempt the more safe 
Major Andr£ laid aside his uniform, which he had yet 
worn under a surtout, and in a plain coat, on horse- 
back, began his journey. He was furnished with a 
passport signed by Arnold, in which permission was 
granted to John Anderson " to go to the lines of White 
Plains, or lower if he thought proper, he being on 
public service/' Alone, and without having excited 
suspicion, he passed the American guards, and was 
silently congratulating himself that he had passed all 
danger, when his imaginary security was disturbed by 
three militia men who were scouring the country 
between the outposts of the hostile armies. They 
suddenly seized the bridle of his horse, and challenged 
his business in that place. The surprise of the mo- 
ment put him off his guard, and instead of showing 
his pass, he hastily asked the men, " where do you 
belong ? " they answered, " to below," meaning New 
York. The Major instantly replied, " so do I." He 
declared himself to be a British officer, and pressed 



t ? 8o.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 239 

for permission to proceed on the urgent business on 
which he was employed. 

The mistake was soon apparent, and he offered the 
men a purse of gold and a valuable gold watch, for 
permission to pass ; and on condition that they would 
accompany him to the city, he promised them present 
reward and future promotion. But the patriotism of 
these young men could not be bribed. 

They proceeded to search Andr^, and found secreted 
in his boots, in the hand writing of Arnold, exact re- 
turns of the state of the forces, ordnance, and defences 
of West Point, with critical remarks on the works, and 
other important papers. They conducted their pris- 
oner to Lieutenant-Colonel Jameson, who commanded 
the troops on the lines. Their names were John 
Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Vanvert. Con- 
gress eventually settled on each of them an annua 
pension of two hundred dollars during life ; and pre- 
sented each with a silver medal, on one side of which 
was a shield with the inscription " Fidelity, 91 and on 
the other the motto " Amor Patriae." 

Andre still passed as John Anderson, and requested 
permission to write to General Arnold to inform him 
that Anderson was detained. The Colonel thought- 
lessly permitted the letter to be sent. Colonel Jame- 
son forwarded to General Washington the papers 
found on the prisoner, and a statement of the manner 
in whice he was taken. The General was then on his 
return from Hartford, and the express unfortunately 
took a road different from that on which he was 
travelling, and passed him. This occasioned so great 
loss of time, that Arnold having received Andre's letter 
made his escape on board the Vulture, before the 
order of his arrest arrived at West Point. 



240 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1780. 

As soon as Andr£ thought that time had been given 
for Arnold to make his escape, he threw off the dis- 
guise which was abhorrent to his nature, and assumed 
his appropriate character of ingenuousness and honor. 
The express which conveyed the intelligence of his 
capture, was charged with a letter from him to Gen- 
eral Washington, in which he declared his name 
and rank, stated that he had, by order of his General, 
Sir Henry Clinton, corresponded with Arnold, that 
his intention was to have met him on neutral ground, 
and that against his stipulation he had been brought 
within an American post. Attempting to make his 
escape from it he had been betrayed into the vile con- 
dition of an enemy in disguise, and he requested that 
whatever his fate might be, a decency of treatment 
might be observed, which would mark, that though 
unfortunate, he was branded with nothing that was 
dishonorable, and that he was involuntarily an im- 
postor. The decorous and manly deportment of 
Andre greatly interested in his favor the American 
army and nation. He was endowed with properties 
to conciliate general esteem. His character is thus 
beautifully painted by the late General Hamilton, who 
without envy might have contemplated his eminent 
qualities, for they were not equal to his own : " There 
was something singularly interesting in the character 
of Andre. To an excellent understanding, well im- 
proved by education and travel, he united a peculiar 
elegance of mind and manners, and the advantages of 
a pleasing person. It is said that he possessed a 
pretty taste for the fine arts, and had himself attained 
some proficiency in poetry, music, and painting. 
His knowledge appeared without ostentation, and 
embellished by a diffidence that rarely accompanies 



i 7 Sa] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



241 



so many talents and accomplishments, which left you 
to suppose more than appeared. His sentiments were 
elevated and inspired esteem, they had a softness that 
conciliated affection. His elocution was handsome, 
his address easy, polite, and insinuating. By his 
merit he had acquired the unlimited confidence of his 
General, and was making rapid progress in military 
rank and reputation. But in the height of his career, 
flushed with new hopes from the execution of a pro- 
ject the most beneficial to his party that could be 
devised, he is at once precipitated from the summit 
of prosperity, sees all the expectations of his ambition 
blasted, and himself ruined. The character I have 
given of him is drawn partly from what I saw of 
him myself, and partly from information. I am aware 
that a man of real merit is never seen in so favorable 
a light as through the medium of adversity. The 
clouds that surround him are so many shades that set 
off his good qualities. Misfortune cuts down little 
vanities, that in prosperous times serve as so many 
spots in his virtues ; and gives a tone to humanity that 
makes his worth more amiable. 

" His spectators, who enjoy a happier lot, are less 
prone to detract from it through envy ; and are much 
disposed by compassion to give the credit he deserves, 
and perhaps even to magnify it." 

General Washington referred the case of Major 
Andre to a board of fourteen general officers. Of 
this board General Green was President, and the 
foreign Generals La Fayette and Steuben were mem- 
bers. They were to determine in what character he 
was to be considered, and what punishment ought to 
be inflicted. This board treated their prisoner with 
the utmost delicacy and tenderness. They desired 

16 



242 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [i 7 8o 

him to answer no question that embarrassed his feel- 
ings. But, concerned only for his honor, he franidy 
confessed he did not come on shore under the sanc- 
tion of a flag, and stated so fully all facts respect- 
ing himself, that it became unnecessary to examine 
a single witness ; but he cautiously guarded against 
communications which would involve the guilt of 
others. 

The board reported the important facts in the case, 
and gave it as their opinion that Andre was a spy, 
and that agreeably to the laws and usages of nations, 
he ought to suffer death. His execution .took place 
next day. 

Andr6 was reconciled to death, but not to the mode 
of dying, which the laws of war had assigned to per- 
sons in his situation. He wished to die as a soldier, 
not as a criminal. In language, which proved him 
possessed of the nicest feelings of heroism and honor, 
he wrote to General Washington, soliciting that he 
might not die on a gibbet ; but the stern maxims of 
justice forbade a compliance with the request, although 
the sensibility of the General was wounded by a refusal. 

Major Andvi walked with composure to the place 
of execution between two American officers. When 
he beheld the instrument of his fate, he asked with 
some emotion, "must I die in this manner?'* " It is 
unavoidable," was the answer. He replied, " I am 
reconciled to my fate, but not to the mode ; " but im- 
mediately added, "it will be but a momentary pang." 
With a countenance of serenity and magnanimity 
which melted the heart of every spectator, he mounted 
the cart. Being asked at the fatal moment if he 
wished to say anything, only that " you will witness 
to the world, that I die like a brave man/' 



1780.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 243 

Never, perhaps, did an execution of this kind more 
deeply interest the finer feelings of human nature. 

The general officers, who reported his case, la- 
mented the necessity they were under to advise that 
as a spy he should be hung ; and the heart of General 
Washington was wrung with anguish when he signed 
his death warrant. But the fatal wound that would 
have been inflicted on the country, had Arnold's trea- 
son succeeded, made the sacrifice necessary for the 
public safety. The American officers universally dis- 
covered a sympathy for the unfortunate sufferer, and 
the sensibility of the public was greatly excited on the 
occasion. 

Great but unavailing endeavors had been used by 
Sir Henry Clinton to save Major Andre. Even Ar- 
nold had the presumption to write a threatening letter 
to General Washington on the subject. The Gen- 
eral deigned not to answer his letter, but he conveyed 
to him his wife and his baggage. The merits and the 
fate of Andr6 gave a darker shade to the baseness 
and treachery of Arnold, and he became an object of 
public detestation and abhorrence, " Andr6/' observed 
General Washington in a letter to a friend, "has met 
his fate with that fortitude which was to be expected 
from an accomplished man and gallant officer ; but I 
am mistaken if at this time Arnold is undergoing the 
torments of a mental hell. He wants feeling ; from 
some traits of his character which have lately come 
to my knowledge, he seems to have been so hack- 
neyed in crime, so lost to all sense of honor and 
shame, that while his faculties still enable him to con- 
tinue his sordid pursuits, there will be no time for re- 
morse/' * 

* Colonel Hamilton in a private letter to a friend unfolded the 



244 LIFE 0F WASHINGTON. [178c 

Arnold published at New York, an address to the 
inhabitants of America, and a proclamation to the 
officers and soldiers of the American army. In these 
publications, he attempted to sow the seeds of disaf- 
fection to the government among the citizens, and to 
allure, by the prospect of emolument and promotion, 
numbers from the army to the British standard ; but 
these publications met with universal indignation and 
contempt. During the whole period of the revolu- 
tionary war, the infamous Arnold was the only Amer- 
ican officer who deserted his banners, and turned his 
sword against the bosom of his country. 

On the discovery of the defection of Arnold, Gen- 
eral Washington strengthened the garrison of West 
Point, and moved the army to a position to support it, 
should Sir Henry Clinton make an attempt to carry 
the post. But although he had acquired a correct 
knowledge of its works, and was assisted by the ad- 
vice of Arnold, he was not inclined to hazard the as- 
sault unaided by plot and stratagem. 

The state of the army lay perpetually upon the 
mind of the Commander-in-Chief. Not wholly dis- 
couraged by former unsuccessful attempts to persuade 
Congress to adopt a permanent military establishment, 
he embraced the inactive period of this campaign once 
more to address that honorable body on this impor- 
tant subject. 

practices to which General Washington here alludes. " This 
man (Arnold) is in every sense despicable. In addition to the 
scene of knavery and prostitution during his command in Phila 
delphia, which the late seizure of his papers has unfolded, the 
history of his command at West Point is a history of little as 
well as great villanies. He practiced every dirty art of pecula- 
tion, and even stooped to connections with the sutlers of the 
garrison to defraud the public." 



1780.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 24S 

His letter was dated as early as August, while ex- 
erting himself to be in readiness to co-operate with 
the French troops, and he observed : — 

" But while we are meditating offensive operations 
which may either not be undertaken at all, or being 
undertaken, may fail, I am persuaded Congress are 
not inattentive to the present state of the army, and 
will view in the same light with me the necessity of 
providing in time against a period (the first of Janu- 
ary) when one-half of our present force will dissolve. 
The shadow of an army that will remain will have 
every motive, except mere patriotism, to abandon the 
service, without the hope, which has hitherto sup- 
ported them, of a change for the better. This is 
almost extinguished now, and certainly will not out- 
live the campaign, unless it finds something more to 
rest upon. This is a truth of which every spectator 
of the distress of the army cannot help being con- 
vinced. Those at a distance may speculate differ- 
ently ; but on the spot an opinion to the contrary, 
judging human nature on the usual scale, would be 
chimerical. 

"The honorable, the Committee of Congress, who 
have seen and heard for themselves, will add their 
testimony to mine, and the wisdom and, justice of 
Congress cannot fail to give it the most serious atten- 
tion. To me it will appear miraculous, if our affairs 
can maintain themselves much longer in their present 
train. If either the temper or resources of the coun- 
try will not admit of an alteration, we may expect 
soon to be reduced to the humiliating condition of 
seeing the cause of America, in America, upheld by 
foreign arms. The generosity of our allies has a 
claim to all our confidence, and all our gratitude ; but 



24 6 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [17S0 

it is neither for the honor of America, nor for the in- 
terest of the common cause, to leave the work entirely 
to them." 

After assigning his reasons for the opinion that 
Great Britain would continue the war, he proceeds : 

" The inference from these reflections is, that we 
cannot count upon a speedy end to the war ; and that 
it is the true policy of America not to content herself 
with temporary expedients, but to endeavor, if possi- 
ble, to give consistency and validity to her measures. 
An essential step to this will be immediately to devise 
a plan and put it in execution, for providing men in 
time to replace those who will leave us at the end of 
the year, and for subsisting, and for making a reason- 
able allowance to the officers and soldiers. 

" The plan for this purpose ought to be of general 
operation, and such as will execute itself. Experi- 
ence has shown that a peremptory draught will be 
the only effectual one. If a draught for the war, or 
for three years, can be effected, it ought to be made 
on every account; a shorter period than a year is 
inadmissible. 

" To one who has been witness to the evils brought 
upon us by short enlistments, the system appears to 
have been pernicious beyond description ; and a crowd 
of motives present themselves to dictate a change. It 
may easily be shown that all the misfortunes we have 
met with in the military line are to be attributed to 
this cause. 

" Had we formed a permanent army in the begin- 
ning, which, by the continuance of the same men in 
service, had been capable of discipline, we never 
should have had to retreat with a handful of men 
across the Delaware, in 1776, trembling for the state 



1780.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 247 

of America, which nothing but the infatuation of the 
enemy could have saved ; we should not have re- 
mained all the succeeding winter at t eir mercy, with 
sometimes scarcely a sufficient body of men to mount 
the ordinary guards, liable at every moment to be dis- 
sipated, if they had only thought proper to march 
against us ; we should not have been under the neces- 
sity of fighting at Brandywine, with an unequal num- 
ber of raw troops, and afterwards of seeing Phila- 
delphia fall a prey to a victorious army ; we should 
not have been at Valley Forge with less than half the 
force of the enemy, destitute of everything, in a situ- 
ation neither to resist nor to retire ; we should not 
have seen New York left with a handful of men, yet 
an overmatch for the main army of these States, while 
the principal part of their force was detached for the 
reduction of two of them ; we should not have found 
ourselves this spring so weak as to be insulted by five 
thousand men, unable to protect our baggage and 
magazines, their security depending on a good coun- 
tenance, and a want of enterprise in the enemy ; we 
should not have been the greatest part of the war in- 
ferior to the enemy, indebted for our safety to their 
inactivity, enduring frequently the mortification of 
seeing inviting opportunities to ruin them, pass un- 
improved for want of a force which the country was 
completely able to afford ; to see the country ravaged, 
our towns burnt, the inhabitants plundered, abused, 
murdered with impunity from the same cause. 

" There is every reason to believe the war has been 
protracted on this account. Our opposition being 
less, made the successes of the enemy greater. The 
fluctuation of the army kept alive their hopes, and at 
every period of the dissolution of a considerable part of 



2*8 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1780. 



it, they have flattered themselves with some decisive 
advantages. Had we kept a permanent army on foot, 
the enemy could have had nothing to hope for, and 
would, in all probability, have listened to terms long 
since. If the army is left in its present situation, it 
must continue an encouragement to the efforts of the 
enemy ; if it is put in a respectable one, it must have 
a contrary effect, and nothing I believe will tend more 
to give us peace the ensuing winter. It will be an 
interesting winter. Many circumstances will con- 
tribute to a negotiation. An army on foot, not only 
for another campaign, but for many campaigns, would 
determine the enemy to pacific measures, and enable 
us to insist upon favorable terms in forcible language. 
An army insignificant in numbers, dissatisfied, crum- 
bling to pieces, would be the strongest temptation 
they could have to try the experiment a little longer. 
It is an old maxim, that the surest way to make a 
good peace, is to be prepared for war." 

Congress having at length resolved to new model 
the army, determined upon the number of regi- 
ments of infantry and cavalry which should compose 
their military establishment, and apportioned upon 
the several States their respective quotas. The 
States were required to raise their men for the war, 
and to have them in the field by the first of the next 
January ; but provision was made, that if any State 
should find it impracticable to raise its quota by the 
first of December, this State might supply the de- 
ficiency by men engaged to serve for a period not 
short of one year. 

This arrangement of Congress was submitted to 
the Commander-in-Chief, and his opinion desired upon 
it. He in a respectful manner stated his objections 



t;8o j LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 24 g 

to the plan. The number of men contemplated was, 
he conceived, too small, and he proposed that the num- 
ber of privates in each regiment should be increased. 
Instead of distinct regiments of cavalry, he recom- 
mended legionary corps, that the horse might always 
be supported by the infantry attached to them. He 
deplored the necessity of a dependence on State 
agency to recruit and support the army, and lamented 
that Congress had made provision for the deficiency 
of any State to procure men for the war, to be sup- 
plied by temporary draughts ; because, he conceived 
that the States upon the urgent requisition of Con- 
gress would have brought their respective quotas into 
the field for the war ; but the provision for deficiency 
being made, their exertions would be weak, and the 
alternative generally embraced. He warmly recom- 
mended honorable provision for the officers. 

The repeated remonstrances of General Washing- 
ton, supported by the chastisements of experience, 
finally induced Congress to lay aside their jealousy of 
a standing army, and to adopt a military establish- 
ment for the war. 

The expected superiority of the French at sea fail- 
ing, the residue of the campaign passed away without 
any remarkable event. The hostile armies merely 
watched each other s motions, until the inclemency 
of the season forced them into winter-quarters. The 
Pennsylvania line wintered at Morristown ; the Jer- 
sey line about Pompton on the confines of New York 
and New Jersey ; and the troops belonging to the 
New England States at West Point and its vicinity, 
on both sides of the North river. The New York line 
had previously been stationed at Albany, to oppose 
any invasion that might be made from Canada, and 
here it remained through the winter, 



250 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[178*. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Arnold is appointed a Brigadier in the British service and in- 
vades Virginia — Plan to capture him — Mutiny in the Amer- 
ican camp — Violence of the Pennsylvania line — Order re- 
stored — Weak state of the army — The French Court grants a 
Loan to the United States — Exertion of the States to enable 
the General to open the campaign — The French troops march 
to the American camp — Plan to surprise the British Pest at 
King's bridge — Expedition to Virginia — Count de Grasse ar- 
rives in the Chesapeake — Yorktown besieged— British redoubts 
stormed — The British make a sortie — Lord Cornwallis at- 
tempts to escape — He capitulates and surrenders his posts — 
Indecisive action between the French and English fleets — 
Sir Henry, too late, embarks his troops for Yorktown — Thanks 
of Congress to the American and French commanders, and to 
the army— General St. Clair dispatched to Carolina — The 
other corps of the army return to the neighborhood of New 
York, and go into winter-quarters. 

1 78 1. Arnold, having been appointed a briga- 
dier-general in the British army, was with about six- 
teen hundred men detached to invade Virginia. With 
his armed ships he sailed up James river, and at Rich- 
mond and other places destroyed public and private 
property to a great amount He at length indicated 
a design to establish a permanent post at Portsmouth. 

The French fleet since its arrival on the American 
coast had been blocked up in the harbor of Newport, 
and the land forces had remained inactive in that 
town. But about this time the British blockading 
squadron suffered by a violent storm, and a temporary 
superiority was given to the French. 

General Washington thought that a fair opportu- 



1781.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 2SI 

nity presented to strike a decisive blow at the British 
detachment in Virginia, and to obtain the person of 
Arnold. In pursuance of this scheme, the General 
detached the Marquis La Fayette to Virginia with 
twelve hundred of the American infantry ; at the same 
time he requested the co-operation of the French from 
Rhode Island. The commanding officers gladly em- 
braced the opportunity to engage in active services, 
that might prove advantageous to their American allies. 

On the death of Admiral Ternay, at Newport, the 
command of the fleet devolved on Destonches. In 
compliance with the request of General Washington 
he sailed with his whole squadron for the 
Chesapeake, having eleven hundred land 
troops on board. The British Admiral Arbuthnot 
having repaired the damages sustained by the storm, 
immediately followed the French, and on the 25th an 
action took place between the two hostile fleets. The 
battle ended without loss to either fleet, but the fruits 
of victory were on the side of the English. The joint 
expedition was frustrated, the French returned to 
Newport, and Arnold was rescued from the fate which 
he merited. 

The winter of 178 1 in a degree renewed the priva- 
tions and sufferings of the American army. The 
men were badly clothed and scantily fed ; and they 
had served almost a year without pay. Without mur- 
muring they long endured their accumulated distresses. 
But the fortitude of the firmest men may be worn 
down. Disheartened by their sufferings, despairing 
of relief, and dissatisfied that their country did not 
make more effectual exertions for their support, the 
spirit of mutiny broke out with alarming appearances. 

The Pennsylvania line stationed at Morristown. 



252 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 

with the exception of three regiments, revolted. On a 
concerted signal, the non-commissioned officers and 
privates turned out with their arms, and announced 
the design of marching to the seat of Congress, there 
to demand a redress of their intolerable grievances. 
The mutiny defied opposition. In the attempt to 
quell it one officer was killed, and several dangerously 
wounded. General Wayne, in a threatening attitude, 
drew his pistol, the mutineers presented their bayonets 
to his breast and said, " General, we love and respect 
you, but if you fire, you are a dead man. We are not 
going to the enemy ; on the contrary, if they were now 
to come out, you should see us fight under your orders 
with as much alacrity as ever ; but we will no longer 
be abused, we are determined on obtaining what is 
our just due." Thirteen hundred of them, under 
officers of their own election, marched in order for 
Princeton with their arms and six field pieces. They 
committed no other act of violence, than to demand of 
the inhabitants provisions for their necessary support. 

Congress sent a committee of their own body to 
confer with them. They demanded the redress of 
their grievances as the basis of accommodation. Sir 
Henry Clinton sent out agents to invite them to his 
standard, promising them more advantageous terms 
than those demanded of Congress. They with indig- 
nation rejected his proposals, and delivered over his 
emissaries to General Wayne, who hanged them as 
spies. President Reed offered the mutineers a purse 
of a hundred guineas as a reward for the surrender 
of the British emissaries. This they refused, declar- 
ing that " what they had done was only a duty they 
owed their country, and they neither desired, nor 
would receive any reward but the approbation of that 



17S1.] LIFE CF WASHINGTON. 353 

country, for which they had so often fought and 
bled." 

The Council of Pennsylvania appointed Mr. Reed, 
their President, and General Potter, a committee to 
compromise with the soldiery, to whom the gentle- 
men from Congress transferred their powers. The 
committee felt themselves compelled to yield more to 
the demands of these soldiers in a state of mutiny, 
than would have retained them quietly in their ranks, 
had the government of Pennsylvania seasonably at- 
tended to their pressing wants. Most of the artil- 
lerists, and many of the infantry were discharged, be- 
cause their time of service was vaguely expressed in 
the orders under which they had enlisted. The resi- 
due received furloughs for forty days ; and the whole 
line was, for this period, absolutely dissolved. 

The evil did not rest with the troops of Pennsylva- 
nia. Some of the Jersey brigade at Pompton caught 
their complaining spirit, and imitated their mutinous 
example. The mutineers were mostly foreigners, and 
they made the same claims upon the country which 
had been granted to the Pennsylvania line. 

The former instance of mutiny had taken place at a 
distance from head-quarters, and General Washing- 
ton, upon serious deliberation, had resolved, not to 
hazard his authority as Commander-in-Chief, in the 
attempt to bring the revolters to order by the influence 
of his personal character ; but to leave the delicate 
transaction with the civil government of the State, 
and he was satisfied with the result. But he perceived 
the importance of arresting the progress of a spirit 
which threatened the dissolution of his army. Relying 
on the firmness and patriotism of the New England 
battalions, which were composed almost exclusively 



254 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 

of native Americans, he determined to reduce the 
Jersey revolters to unconditional subjection. General 
Howe was detached on this service, which he promptly 
performed. Two or three of the ringleaders were 
executed on the spot, and complete subordination was 
restored in the brigade. 

The mutiny was suppressed, but causes of uneasi- 
ness remained, and these were not confined to the 
army. The money received into the national treasury 
from taxes imposed by State authorities, bore no pro- 
portion to the public expense. The magazines were 
exhausted, and the States were so deficient in furnish- 
ing provisions for the army, that supplies of every de- 
scription were of necessity obtained by impressment. 
Public credit being gone, the certificates of property 
in this manner taken, were considered of little value, 
and general uneasiness and murmuring ensued. 
These evils threatened the destruction of the army, 
and the loss of the American cause, unless a vital 
remedy was speedly applied to the public disease. 

The Court of London became intimately acquainted 
with the interior situation of the United States, and 
in consequence entertained sanguine expectations of a 
complete conquest of the States south of the Hudson. 
The letters of Lord George Germaine to Sir Henry 
Clinton, which were written at this period, urged him 
in the strongest language, to embrace the favorable 
opportunity to disperse the remnant of General Wash- 
ington's army, and to push his conquest of the 
revolted colonies. 

The spring of 1781 opened a gloomy prospect to 
the Commander-in-Chief. Congress had made a requi- 
sition upon the several states for an army consisting 
of thirty-seven thousand men. In May, the States, 



i 7 8i.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 255 

from New Jersey to New Hampshire inclusive, had 
not in the field more than seven thousand infantry. 
The men were generally new recruits, and time had 
not been given to discipline them. The cavalry and 
artillery, at no period during the campaign, amounted 
to one thousand men. Supplies of provisions were 
greatly deficient, and the soldiers were almost naked, 
the clothing for the army, expected from Europe, not 
having arrived. The Quartermasters department 
had neither funds nor credit, and the transportation of 
stores could be made only by impressments, aided by 
a military force. Measures of this violent nature 
excited great uneasiness among the inhabitants ; and 
General Washington expected that actual resistance 
would be made to them. These difficulties had been 
foreseen by the Commander-in-Chief, and he had made 
every possible exertion to obviate them. He had 
repeatedly made known the urgent wants of the army 
to Congress and to the States, and had sent officers of 
the greatest influence into the respective governments 
to enforce his statements. 

The mind of General Washington sunk not under 
his embarrassments. He had fully reflected upon the 
dangers incident to his situation, and his resolution 
rose to meet them. While pondering upon his des- 
perate prospects, he received the grateful intelligence, 
that the government of France had loaned the United 
States six millions of livres, a part of which sum was 
advanced in arms and clothing for the army ; and a 
part paid to the drafts of General Washington. In- 
formation was also given, that this government had 
resolved to employ a respectable fleet in the American 
seas the next summer. 

The plan of vigorous operations was resumed, and 



256 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 

it was determined by General Washington and the 
French commanders, that New York should be the 
first object of their attack. On this occasion the 
Commander-in-Chief addressed letters to the Execu- 
tives of the New England States, and of New Jersey, 
earnestly calling upon them to fill up their battalions, 
and to furnish their quotas of provision. 

The near prospect of terminating the war animated 
these States to unusual exertions. The number of 
men indeed fell short of the requisition of Congress ; 
but effectual measures were adopted to supply the 
army with provisions. Under the system of State 
requisition", meat, spirit, and salt were drawn from 
New England. A convention of delegates from these 
States met at Providence, and adopted a system of 
monthly supplies through the campaign. As soon as 
this plan could be carried into operation, the supplies 
of those articles were regular and competent. 

Requisitions of flour were made from New York, 
New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. New York and New 
Jersey, having been much exhausted by the depreda- 
tions of the enemy, and by the necessary impressments 
of the American army, the chief dependence for this 
essential article was placed on Pennsylvania. The 
Legislature of the State was not vigorous in its 
measures, and a scarcity of flour was apprehended. 

At this period, Mr. Robert Morris of Philadelphia, 
a member of Congress from that State, a merchant of 
much intelligence and enterprise, was entrusted with 
the management of the finances of the United States. 
To him the Legislature of Pennsylvania transferred 
the taxes appropriated to furnish the requisitions of 
Congress upon that State ; and he in consequence 
contracted to supply the national requisition. By his 



I7S1.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 257 

personal agency and credit, he established temporary 
funds, amply supplied the army with flour, and fur- 
nished the Quartermaster-General with the means 
effectually to execute the duties of his department. 
Through the campaign the movements of the army 
were made with facility and expedition. 

In June, the French troops marched from Newport 
to the Headquarters of the American army. As they 
approached the North river, General Washington laid 
a plan to surprise the British works at King's bridge. 
On the night of the 2d of July, the plan was to be 
carried into execution. At this time it was expected 
Count Rochambeau would reach the scene of action, 
to assist in maintaining the ground, which the i\meri- 
can troops might gain. To secure his co-operation, 
the Commander-in-Chief sent an aid to the Count 
requesting him to direct his route to King's bridge, 
and to regulate his march in such a manner as to be 
at that place by the specified time. 

To mask the design, and to give a reason for the 
movement of the American army, which might not 
excite the suspicion of the British Commander, General 
Washington, in orders on the 30th of June, mentioned 
that a junction with the French troops might soon be 
expected, He, in subsequent orders, gave information 
" that the French army would not come to that ground, 
and as the General was desirous of showing all the 
respect in his power to those generous allies, who 
were hastening with the zeal of friends, and the ardor 
of soldiers, to share the fatigues and dangers of the 
campaign, he proposed to receive thern at some other 
more convenient place ; and for this purpose would 
march the whole line of the American army at three 
in the morning." 

l 7 



258 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 

General Lincoln was appointed to command the 
detachment which was to assail the works at King's 
bridge, and on the night of the 1st of July, he em- 
barked in boats at Teller's Point, and with muffled oars 
passed down the North river, undiscovered, to Dobb's 
ferry. At this place his boats and his men were con- 
cealed. He reconnoitred the works to be attacked, 
and found that a British detachment which had been 
some time in New Jersey, had returned, and was en- 
camped in force on the north end of York Island, and 
that an armed ship was in such a manner, stationed in 
the river, as to render it impossible for the American 
boats, without discovery, to approach the landing 
place. The attempt upon the enemy was of course 
relinquished. 

General Washington extended his orders to an 
enterprise, to be carried into effect, should the attempt 
on King's bridge fail. This was to bear off a corps of 
emigrants, which, under the command of Colonel 
Delancy, was posted above the British. The execution 
of this plan was left principally with the French, and 
General Lincoln was directed to take a position that 
would prevent the retreat of Delancy, and protect the 
flanks of the French from the British reinforcements 
from the Island. But the French troops did not in 
season reach the scene of action, and this scheme also 
failed. At daylight a sharp skirmish took place 
between General Lincoln and a party of British light 
troops. These retreated to York Island as General 
Washington approached, who had moved the army 
to support his detachments, and to follow up and 
advantage they might gain. On the sixth of July, 
Count Rochambeau joined the American army at 
Dobb's ferry. 



i 7 8i.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 259 

Early in August Count de Barrass, who had suc- 
ceeded to the command of the French fleet at Rhode 
Island, informed General Washington, that the Count 
de Grasse was to have sailed from the West Indies the 
3d of that month for the Chesapeake, with twenty-five 
ships of the line, and three thousand land troops. 

It became necessary to determine absolutely on the 
plan of operation. The battalions in the army, under 
the immediate command of General Washington were 
not full ; it was known that the garrison at New York 
had received a very considerable reinforcement ; and 
the French marine officers appeared not ardent in the 
plan to attack the harbor of this city. 

For these considerations General Washington de- 
termined to relinquish the attempt on New York, and 
to march to Virginia to lay siege to the post of Lord 
Cornwallis at Yorktown. Having resolved on this 
plan, he in a private manner adopted measures for its 
execution. 

The defence of West Point and of the other posts on 
the Hudson was committed to General Heath, and a 
large portion of the troops raised in the Northern 
States was for this service left under his command. 
General Washington resolved in person to conduct 
the Virginia expedition. The troops under Count Ro- 
chambeau, and strong detachments from the American 
army, amounting to more than two thousand men, and 
consisting of the light infantry, Lamb's artillery and 
several other corps were destined for this expedition. 
By the 25th of August the whole body, American and 
French, had crossed the North river. 

An intercepted letter of General Washington, in 
which he communicated, as the result of a consulta- 
tion with the French commanders, the design to at- 



260 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[17S1. 



tack New York, had excited the apprehensions of the 
British General for the safety of that city. This ap- 
prehension was kept alive, and the real object of the 
Americans concealed, by preparation for an encamp- 
ment in New Jersey opposite to Staten Island, by the 
rout of the American army, and other appearances in- 
dicating an intention to besiege New York ; and the 
troops had passed the Delaware out of reach of annoy- 
ance, before Sir Henry suspected their destination. 
General Washington pressed forward with the ut- 
most expedition, and at Chester he received 
Sept. 3. the important intelligence, that Count de- 
Grasse had arrived with his fleet in the Ches- 
apeake, and that the Marquis St. Simon had, with a 
body of three thousand land forces, joined the Mar- 
quis La Fayette. Having directed the route of his army 
from the head of Elk, he, accompanied by Rocham- 
beau, Chatelleux, Du Portail, and Knox, proceeded to 
Virginia. They reached Williamsburg the 14th of 
September, and immediately repaired on board the Ville 
de Paris, to settle with Count de Grasse the plan of 
operation. 

The Count afterwards wrote General Wash- 
ington, that, judging his confined situation 
to be unfavorable for a naval engagement, he should 
sail to meet the English at sea or to block them up 
in the harbor of New York. General Washington 
apprehending that the successful issue of the expedi- 
tion, which he had conceived morally certain, might 
by this measure be defeated, sent a despatch by the 
Marquis La Fayette to the Count, to dissuade him 
from it. The Count consented to conform himself to 
the wishes of the American General, and remained at 
anchor in the bay of the Chesapeake. 



i 7 8i.] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



2 Si 



The whole body of American and French troops 
reached Williamsburg by the 25th of September. At 
this place the allied forces were joined by a detach- 
ment of the militia of Virginia, under the command 
Governor Nelson. Preparations were soon made to 
besiege Yorktown. 

The rivers York and James form a long and 
narrow peninsula, and Lord Cornwallis had chosen a 
position on the south side of York river as a military 
post, and had strongly fortified it. Opposite to York- 
town on the north shore is Gloucester Point, which 
projects into the river, and at this place reduces its 
width to one mile. This point his lordship also pos- 
sessed, and fortified. Between these posts the river is 
deep, and ships of the line may here ride in safety. 
The communication between Yorktown and Glouces- 
ter Point was defended by batteries on shore, and by 
several armed ships in the river. The body of the 
British army was encamped about Yorktown, within 
a range of redoubts and field works, erected to com- 
mand the peninsula, which at this place is not more 
than eight miles wide, and to impede the approach of 
an assaulting enemy. Colonel Tarleton with six or 
seven hundred men defended Gloucester. 

On the 28th, the main body of the allied army moved 
down towards Yorktown, driving before them troops 
of horse, and the piquets of the enemy. The columns, 
as they reached the ground assigned them, encamped 
for the night and lay upon their arms. The next day 
was employed in reconnoitring the enemy's position, 
in which services Colonel Scammel, an officer of merit, 
was mortally wounded, and taken prisoner. A force 
consisting of about two thousand French and Ameri- 
cans, under the command of the French General de 



262 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1781, 



Choise, was stationed on the north side of the river, 
to watch and restrain the enemy in Gloucester. 

The French and Americans were employed until 
the 6th of October in conveying their artillery and 
stores from the landing place to camp. On the night 
of that day, they broke ground within six hundred 
yards of the British lines ; and the first parallel was 
completed with little loss. On the 9th and ioth,guns 
were mounted on the works, and the batteries began 
to play, with visible effect, on the lines of the enemy, 
Many of their guns were soon silenced, and their works 
damaged. By the nth, the enemy scarcely returned 
a shot. The shells and red hot balls of the besiegers 
reached the British shipping in the river, and set the 
Charon frigate of forty-four guns and several large 
transports on fire, which were entirely consumed. A 
spirit of emulation animated the troops of both nations, 
and the siege was prosecuted with vigor and effect. 
On the night of the nth, the second parallel was be- 
gun within three hundred yards of the British lines. 
The working parties were not discovered until day- 
light, when the trenches were in a situation to cover 
the men. Three days were spent in completing the 
batteries of this parallel, which time the British inde- 
fatigably employed upon their lines. They opened new 
embrasures, and their fire was more destructive than 
at any previous period of the siege. Two redoubts in 
particular advanced in front of the British lines, and 
which flanked the second parallel of the Americans, 
gave great annoyance ; and it was deemed necessary 
to carry them by storm. 

To prevent national jealousy, and to keep alive the 
spirit of emulation, the attack of one was assigned to 
the American troops, and that of the other to the 



I78i.] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



263 



French. The Marquis La Fayette commanded the 
American detachment, consisting ot light infantry, 
which was designed to act against the redoubt near 
the river, and the Baron de Viominel, with the grena- 
diers and chasseurs of his nation, was ordered to storm 
the redoubt nearer to the British right. Colonel Ham- 
ilton, who through this campaign commanded a bat- 
talion of light infantry, led the advanced corps of the 
Americans to the assault, while Colonel Laurens 
turned the redoubt and attacked in the rear, to pre- 
vent the retreat of the garrison. Without giving time 
for the abattis to be removed, and without firing a gun 
the Americans gallantly assaulted, and instantly car- 
ried the works. Their loss was one sergeant and eight 
privates killed ; and six officers, and twenty-six rank 
and file wounded. The garrison was commanded by 
a Major, and consisted of about fifty men. Of these 
eight privates were killed, a few individuals escaped, 
and the residue were made prisoners.* 

* " This event took place soon after the wanton slaughter of 
the men in Fort Griswold in Connecticut by the British. The 
irritation of this recent carnage had not so far subdued the hu- 
manity of the American character as to induce retaliation. Not 
a man was killed except inaction. 1 Incapable,' said Colonel 
Hamilton in his report, « of imitating examples of barbarity, 
and forgetting recent provocation, the soldiery spared every 
man that ceased to resist.' Mr. Gordon, in his History of the 
American war, states the orders given by La Fayette, with the 
approbation of Washington, to have directed that every man 
in the redoubt, after its surrender, should be put to the sword. 
These sanguinary orders, so repugnant to the character of the 
Commander-in-Chief and ot La Fayette, were never given. 
There is no trace of them among the papers of General Wash- 
ington ; and Colonel Hamilton, who took a part in the enter- 
prise, which assures his perfect knowledge of every materia] 

occurrence, has publicly contradicted the statement.' 7 

Judge Marshall. 



264 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 

The redoubt attacked by the French was garrisoned 

by one hundred and twenty men, it made more resist- 
ance and was overcome at the loss of near one hundred 
men. Of the garrison eighteen were killed, and three 
officers and about forty privates were made prisoners. 

The Commander-in-Chief was highly pleased with 
the gallantry of the attacking troops on this occasion. 
In general orders he congratulated the army on the 
success of the enterprise, and thanked the troops for 
their cool and intrepid conduct. " The General re- 
flects/' concluded the orders, " with the highest degree 
di pleasure, on the confidence which the troops of the 
two nations must hereafter have in each other. As- 
sured of mutual support, he is convinced there is no 
danger, which they will not cheerfully encounter, no 
difficulty which they will not bravely overcome." The 
redoubts were the same night included within the 
second parallel. 

Lord Cornwallis well knew that the fire of the 
second parallel would soon render his works untena- 
ble, and determined to attempt to destroy it. The 
sortie appointed for this service consisted of three 
hundred and fifty men, and was commanded by Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Abercrombie. With great impetu- 
osity, he attacked two batteries that were in the 
greatest forwardness and carried them ; but 
Oct. 15. the guards from the trenches advancing, he 
was compelled to retreat without having ef- 
fected his purpose. A few pieces of cannon were 
hastily spiked, but they were soon again rendered fit 
for use. The service was honorable for the officers 
and men engaged, but the siege was not protracted. 

By the afternoon of the 16th the British works sunk 
under the fire of the batteries of the second parallel ; 



1781.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 265 

in the whole front attacked, they could not show a 
single gun, and their shells were nearly expended. 
In this extremity his lordship adopted the desperate 
resolution to attempt an escape. Leaving the sick 
and wounded in his posts, he determined with his ef- 
ficient force to cross over to Gloucester, disperse the 
troops under De Choise, mount his troops upon horses 
that might be found in the country, direct his course 
to the fords of the great rivers, and make his way to 
New York. For this purpose boats were collected, 
and other necessary measures taken. On the night 
of the 1 6th the first embarkation arrived in safety at 
Gloucester, but at the moment the boats were return- 
ing, a violent storm arose, which forced them down 
the river. At daylight the storm subsided, and the 
boats were sent to bring back the soldiers to York- 
town, which, with little loss, was accomplished in the 
course of the forenoon. 

On the morning of the 17th, the fire of the Ameri- 
can batteries became intolerable, which soon, by its 
reiterated effects, rendered the British post untenable. 
Lord Cornwallis, perceiving further resistance to be 
unavailing, about ten o'clock beat a parley, and pro- 
posed a cessation of hostilities for twenty-four hours, 
that commissioners might meet to settle the terms 
on which the posts of York and Gloucester should be 
surrendered. General Washington, in his answer, 
declared his " ardent desire to spare the effusion of 
blood, and his readiness to listen to such terms as 
were admissible ; " but to prevent loss of time, he 
desired "that, previous to the meeting of the commis- 
sioners, the proposals of his lordship might be trans- 
mitted in writing, for which purpose a suspension 
of hostilities for two hours should be granted." The 



266 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1781. 



terms proposed by his lordship were such as led the 
General to suppose that articles of capitulation might 
easily be adjusted, and he continued the cessation of 
hostilities until the next day. To expedite the busi- 
ness, he summarily stated the terms he was willing to 
grant, and informed Earl Cornwallis, that if he ad- 
mitted these as the basis of a treaty, commissioners 
might meet to put them into form. Accordingly Vis- 
count de Noailles, and Lieutenant-Colonel Laurens 
on the part of the allies, and Colonel Dundas and 
Major Ross, on the part of the English, met the 
next day and adjusted articles of capitulation, which 
were to be submitted to the consideration of the 
British general. Resolving not to expose himself to 
any accident that might be the consequence of unneces- 
sary delay, General Washington ordered the rough 
draught of the commissioners to be fairly transcribed, 
and sent to Lord Cornwallis early next morning, with 
a letter, expressing his expectation that the garrison 
would march out by two o'clock in the afternoon. 
Hopeless of more favorable terms, his Lordship 
signed the capitulation, and surrendered the posts of 
York and Gloucester with their garrisons to General 
Washington ; and the shipping in the harbor, with 
the seamen, to Count de Grasse. 

The prisoners, exclusive of seamen, amounted to 
more than seven thousand, of which, between four 
and five thousand were fit for duty. The garrison 
lost during the siege, six officers and five hundred 
and forty-eight privates in killed and wounded. The 
privates with a competent number of officers were to 
remain in Virginia, Maryland, or Pennsylvania. The 
officers not required for this service were permitted 
on parole to return to Europe, or to any of the mari* 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



267 



time posts of the English on the American continent. 
Lord Cornvvallis attempted to introduce into the treaty 
an article in favor of those Americans who had joined 
his standard ; but General Washington referred 
their case to the civil authority. Permission, how- 
ever, was granted to his Lordship to send the Bonetta 
sloop of war, unsearched, to New York to carry his 
despatches to Sir Henry Clinton, and in her those 
Americans went passengers, who had in the highest 
degree incurred the resentment of their countrymen. 
The terms granted to Earl Cornwallis were, in gen- 
eral, the terms which had been granted to the Ameri- 
cans at the surrender of Charleston ; and General 
Lincoln, who on that occasion resigned his sword to 
Lord Cornwallis, was appointed to receive the sub- 
mission of the royal army. 

The allied army, to which Lord Cornwallis surren- 
dered, amounted to sixteen thousand ; seven thousand 
French, five thousand five hundred Continental troops, 
and three thousand five hundred militia. In the course 
of the siege, they lost in killed and wounded about 
three hundred. The siege was prosecuted with so 
much military judgment and ardor, that the treaty was 
opened the nth, and the capitulation signed the 13th 
day after ground was broken before the British lines. 
The whole army received the unreserved approbation 
of the General. But the peculiar services of particu- 
lar corps entitled them to special notice. The artil- 
lerists and the engineers greatly distinguished them- 
selves. Brigadiers Du Portail and Knox were pro- 
moted to be Major-Generals. Major-Generals Lin- 
coln and the Marquis La Fayette were mentioned 
with high commendations, and Governor Nelson, who 
commanded the militia, was thanked for his effectual 



268 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



exertions in the field, and in furnishing the army with 
such articles as his State afforded. To Count Roch- 
ambeau, to the French officers and troops, Genera] 
Washington expressed his acknowledgments in flat 
tering language. 

The British General and Admiral at New York had 
not been inattentive to the perilous situation of Lord 
Cornwallis. Admiral Rodney in the West Indies had 
early been apprised of the intention of Count de 
Grasse to visit the American coast ; but not supposing 
that the whole of the French fleet on that station, 
would be employed on this service, Rodney detached 
Sir Samuel Hood to the continent with fourteen sail 
of line of battle ships. Sir Samuel reached the mouth 
of the Chesapeake before de Grasse, and finding no 
enemy there, sailed along the coast to Sandy Hook, 
Admiral Greaves then lay in the harbor of New York 
with seven ships of the line. Immediately after the 
arrival of Hood, intelligence was received that Count 
de Barrass had sailed from Newport. Admiral Greaves 
with the whole British squadron without loss of time 
sailed in pursuit of him, and on the 24th of September 
he discovered the French fleet under de Grasse con- 
sisting of twenty-four ships of the line, riding at an- 
chor in the Chesapeake and extending across its en- 
trance. Count de Grasse ordered his ships to slip 
their cables 1 and form the line of battle. A partial 
engagement took place, in which some of the English 
ships were considerably damaged. The hostile fleets 
manoeuvred for four or five days in sight of each other 
and Count de Grasse then returned to his anchorage 
ground. Here he found Count de Barrass, who had 
taken a wide circuit to avoid the English, and had, 
while the hostile fleets were at sea, entered the Chesa- 



1781 ] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 269 

peake with the squadron from Newport, consisting of 
five ships and fourteen transports, laden with heavy 
artillery and military stores for the siege. Admiral 
Greaves returned to New York to repair. 

In the course of a few days, the British squadron 
was augmented to twenty-five ships of the line, and 
Sir Henry Clinton determined to encounter every 
hazard in the attempt to relieve Earl Cornwallis. He 
embarked seven thousand of his best troops, and, con- 
voyed by the fleet, sailed on the very day of the capit- 
ulation, for Virginia. At the entrance of the Chesa- 
peake, on the 24th of October, he received information 
of the surrender of his Lordship, and he returned to 
New York. 

The capture of Lord Cornwallis and bis army excited 
universal joy through the United States. In a circui- 
tous route from Charleston to Yorktown, this army 
had marched eleven hundred miles, and had spread 
terror arid distress through the whole extent From 
this dread the country was delivered. The surren- 
der of a second royal army, the Americans deemed 
an event decisive of the independence of the United 
States, and which would speedily terminate the war. 

The day after the capitulation General Washington 
ordered, " that those who were under arrest should be 
pardoned and set at liberty ; " and announced, that 
" Divine service shall be performed to-morrow in the 
different brigades and divisions. The Commander- 
in-Chief recommends, that all the troops that are not 
upon duty assist at it with a serious deportment 
and that sensibility of heart which the recollection of 
the surprising and particular interposition of Provi- 
dence m our favor claims." Congress as soon as they 
received General Washington's official letter giving 



270 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1781. 

information of the event, resolved to go in procession 
to the Dutch Lutheran Church, and return thanks to 
Almighty God for the signal success of the American 
arms ; and they issued a proclamation recommending 
to the citizens of the United States to observe the 
thirteenth of December as a day of Public Thanks- 
giving and Prayer. The news of the capture of Earl 
Cornwallis was everywhere received with exultation 
and public rejoicing. 

Congress for this achievement voted the thanks of 
the United States to General Washington, to Count 
Rochambeau, to Count de Grasse, to the officers of the 
allied army generally, and to the corps of artillery and 
engineers in particular. They also resolved that a 
marble column should be erected at Yorktown in 
Virginia, bearing emblems of the alliance between the 
United States and his Most Christian Majesty, and 
inscribed with a succinct narrative of the surrender of 
the British army under the command of Earl Corn- 
wallis. Two stands of colors taken from the royal 
troops were presented to General Washington, two 
Seld pieces to Count Rochambeau ; and application 
tfas made to the French Court that Count de Grasse 
might be permitted to accept a testimonial of the 
approbation of Congress, similar to that which Ro- 
chambeau had received. 

To the Commander-in-Chief the most affectionate 
and respectful addresses were presented by the govern- 
ments of the States, by the authorities of cities, and 
by the corporations of literary institutions. 

The decided superiority of the allies in naval and 
land forces, General Washington wished to direct to 
the conquest of the British posts at Carolina and 
Georgia. He addressed a letter to Count de Grasse 



17S1] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 271 

on this subject, requesting his co-operation in measures 
directed to these objects. But the Count declined, 
declaring that the service of his king demanded his 
immediate return to the West Indies. 

Orders were of course issued for the disposition of 
the allied armies for the approaching winter. Major- 
General St. Clair was detached with two brigades to 
South Carolina to reinforce General Green. The 
French forces remained in Virginia. The Eastern 
troops embarked early in November for the Head of 
Elk, under the command of General Lincoln, who was 
ordered to march them from the place of their landing 
into New Jersey and New York, and to canton them for 
the winter in those States. Count de Grasse with his 
fleet sailed for the West Indies, and General Wash- 
ington proceeded to Philadelphia. 



272 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[17S1. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Preparations for another campaign — Sir Guy Carleton arrives at 
New York and announces the vote of Parliament to acknowl- 
edge American Independence — Army anxious for their Pay 
— Anonymous Address exciting them to a Revolt — General 
Washington convenes and addresses the officers — Their res- 
olutions — Preliminary Articles of Peace received — Cessation 
of Hostilities proclaimed — General Washington addresses a 
Circular Letter to the Executives of the several States — Army 
disbanded — New Levies of Pennsylvania revolt — The Com- 
mander-in-Chief enters New York — Takes leaves of his 
Officers — Resigns his Commission to the President of Con- 
gress—Retires to Mount Vernon. 

1 87 1. The brilliant issue of the last campaign did 
not relax the vigilance of General Washington. He 
deemed it true policy to call forth all the resources of 
the country, that the United States might be prepared 
for the conflicts of another year, or might take a com- 
manding attitude in a negotiation for peace. From 
Mount Vernon, on his way to the seat of government, 
he wrote General Green ; " I shall attempt to stimulate 
Congress to the best improvement of our late success 
by taking the most vigorous and effectual measures to 
be ready for an early and decisive campaign the next 
year. My greatest fear is that, viewing this stroke in 
a point of light which may too much magnify its im- 
portance, they may think our work too nearly closed 
and fall into a state of languor and relaxation. To 
prevent this error, I shall employ every means in 
my power, and, if unhappily we sink into this fatal 
mistake, no part of the blame shall be mine." 

He reached Philadelphia the 27th of November. 



1782] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 273 

and on the next day had an audience of Congress, 
The President informed him that a committee was 
appointed to arrange the military establishment of the 
next year, and that he was requested to remain in 
Philadelphia to assist in this important business. At 
the consultations of this committee, the Secretary of 
War, the Minister of Finance, and the Secretary of 
Foreign affairs assisted. The arrangements were 
made with despatch, and on the 10th of December* 
Congress passed the resolves for the requisitions of 
men and money for the year 1782 upon the several 
States ; and the personal influence of the Commander- 
in-Chief was on this occasion used, to persuade the 
State governments seasonably to comply with the reso- 
lutions of Congress. 

1782. The first intelligence from the British gov- 
ernment, after the surrender of Earl Cornwallis, in- 
dicated a design to continue the American war ; but 
early in May, Sir Guy Carlton arrived at New York, 
to supersede Sir Henry Clinton as Commander-in- 
Chief of the British army ; and he and Admiral Digby 
were appointed commissioners to treat with the 
United States upon terms of peace. He communi- 
cated to General Washington a vote of the British 
Parliament against the prosecution of the American 
war ; and a bill authorizing the King to conclude a 
peace or truce with the revolted provinces of North 
America. Sir Guy professed his pacific disposition, 
and proposed that hostilities should cease, as these 
would produce individual distress without national 
advantage. This bill, when Sir Guy left England, had 
not passed into a law, and therefore was not a proper 
basis of negotiation ; and the Commander-in-Chief 

continued his defensive preparations. 

18 



274 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1782 

In August Sir Guy officially informed General 
Washington that negotiations for a general peace 
had commenced at Paris ; and that his Britannic 
Majesty had directed his minister to propose the In 
dependence of the United States as a preliminary. 

The deficiency of the States in paying their respec- 
tive requisitions of money into the national treasury, 
subjected the Minister of Finance to extreme difficulty; 
but by anticipating the public revenue, and by exert- 
ing, to the utmost, his personal influence, he was 
enabled barely to support the army. Neither officers 
nor men received any pay. In September Congress 
contemplated the reduction of their military establish- 
ment. By this measure many of the officers would be 
discharged. In a confidential letter to the Secretary 
of War, the Commander-in-Chief expressed a full 
persuasion, that the gentlemen would gladly retire to 
private life, could they be reinstated in a situation as 
favorable as that which they quitted for the service of 
their country ; but, added he, 

" I cannot help fearing the result of the measure, 
when I see such a number of men goaded by a thou- 
sand stings of reflection on the past, and of anticipa- 
tion on the future, about to be turned into the world, 
soured by penury, and what they call the ingratitude 
of the public ; involved in debts, without one farthing 
of money to carry them home, after having spent the 
flower of their days, and many of them, their patri- 
monies in establishing the freedom and independence 
of their country ; and having suffered every thing 
which human nature is capable of enduring on this 
side of death. I repeat it, when I reflect on these 
irritable circumstances, unattended by one thing to 
soothe their feelings, or brighten the gloomy prospect, 



i;82.1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 2 7S 

I cannot avoid apprehending that a train of evils will 
follow of a very serious and distressing nature. 

"I wish not to heighten the shades of the picture 
so far as the real life would justify me in doing, or I 
would give anecdotes of patriotism and distress which 
have scarcely ever been paralleled, never surpassed in 
the history of mankind. But you may rely upon it, 
the patience and long-suffering of this army are almost 
exhausted, and there never was so great a spirit of 
discontent as at this instant. While in the field, I 
think it may be kept from breaking out into acts of 
outrage ; but when we retire into winter-quarters 
(unless the storm be previously dissipated) I cannot be 
at ease respecting the consequences. It is nigh time 
for a peace." 

Although the military services of the field did not 
require the presence of the Commander-in-Chief, yet 
he was induced on account of the irritable state of the 
army to remain the whole season in camp. 

The disquietude of the army arose more from an 
apprehension, that their country would ultimately fail 
in the compensation promised them, than from the 
deficiency of prompt payment. 

In October 1780, Congress had passed a resolution 
granting half-pay to the officers for life ; but they had 
no funds to pledge for the fulfilment of these engage- 
ments. Public opinion seemed to be opposed to the 
measure, and the pointed opposition by a number of 
the members of the National Legislature, rendered it 
doubtful whether a future Congress would feel them- 
selves bound by that resolution. This doubt was 
strengthened by the consideration that, since the pas- 
sage of the resolution, the articles of confederation had 
been adopted, and by these the concurrence of nine 



276 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1783 

States, in Congress assembled, is necessary to the ap- 
propriation of public money. Could absolute confi- 
dence be placed in the honor and faith of the National 
Council, still they must depend on state sovereignties 
for the ways and means to execute their promises. 
The country had been greatly deficient to the army, 
in the time of war, when their services were absolutely 
necessary. Would this country, amidst the security 
and tranquillity of p^ace, be more just ? As the pros- 
pects of immediate peace brightened, the attention of 
the officers became the more engaged to secure a 
compensation for those services which were the means 
to establish the independence of their country. In 
December they presented a memorial to Congress, 
stating that many of them had expended their private 
fortunes, and most of them the prime of life in the 
service of their country, and petitioning that a gross 
sum might be granted them for the money actually 
due, and as a commutation for half-pay. They chose 
a committee of officers to present their petition to 
Congress, and to attend its passage through that 
honorable body. 

At this period, Congress was much divided in 
opinion upon the most important public questions. 
State jealousies and interests arose in opposition to 
the engagements of the nation ; and although part of 
Congress, respectable for number and weight of char- 
acter, acknowledged the merit of the military, and were 

inclined to do them justice, yet in March, the 
1783. committee at the seat of government wrote the 

officers in camp, that no decisive measures 
were taken upon their petition. At this time, the in- 
telligence arrived that the provisional articles of peace 
between the United States and Great Britain were 



1783.] LIFE OF WA- "IINGTOtt. 277 

signed. The army viewed the moment as the crisis 
of their destiny. They recollected their past sacrifices, 
they felt their present wants, and anticipated future 
sufferings. Resenting the ingratitude of their country, 
and apprehending that it would ultimately be unjust, 
an irritable state of mind ensued, which threatened 
violences that would tarnish the glory of their own 
services, and commit the peace of their country. 

On the 10th of March an anonymous paper was 
circulated, requesting a meeting at eleven o'clock, on 
the next day, at the public building, of the general and 
field officers, of an officer from each company, and a 
delegate from the medical staff, to " consider their late 
letter from their representatives in Philadelphia, and 
what measures (if any) should be adopted to obtain 
that redress of grievances which they seemed to have 
solicited in vain." 

On the same day, the following publication, art- 
fully addressed to the passions of the officers, and ad- 
mirably calculated to stimulate them to adopt the 
desperate measure it recommended, was circulated 
through the camp : — 

" To the Officers of the Army. 
" Gentlemen, 

" A fellow soldier, whose interest and affections 
bind him strongly to you, whose past sufferings have 
been as great, and whose future fortune may be as 
desperate as yours — would beg leave to address you. 

" Age has its claims, and rank is not without its 
pretensions to advise; but though unsupported by 
both, he flatters himself, that the plain language of 
sincerity and experience will neither be unheard nor 
unregarded. 



278 LIFE OF WASHINGTON". [17S3. 

" Like many of you, he loved private life, and left 
it with regret. He left it, determined to retire from 
the field, with the necessity that called him to it, and 
not until then — not until the enemies of his country, 
the slaves of power, and the hirelings of injustice, 
were compelled to abandon their schemes, and acknowl- 
edge America, as terrible in arms, as she had been 
humble in remonstrance. With this object in view, 
he has long shared in your toils and mingled in your 
dangers. He has felt the cold hand of poverty with- 
out a murmur, and has seen the insolence of wealth 
without a sigh — but, too much under the direction of 
his wishes, and sometimes weak enough to mistake 
desire for opinion, he has until lately, very lately, be- 
lieved in the justice of his country. He hoped that 
as the clouds of adversity scattered, and as the sun- 
shine of peace and better fortune broke in upon us, lie 
coldness and severity of government would relax, and 
that more than justice, that gratitude would blaze 
forth upon those hands which had upheld her in the 
darkest stages of her passage, from impending servi- 
tude to acknowledged independence. But faith has 
its limits as well as temper, and there are points be- 
yond which neither can be stretched, without sink- 
ing into cowardice, or plunging into credulity — This, 
my friends, I conceive to be your situation — hurried 
to the very verge of both, another step would ruin ycu 
forever — to be tame and unprovoked when injuries 
press hard upon you, is more than weakness ; but to 
look for kinder usage, without one manly effort of 
your own, would fix your character, and show the 
world how richly you deserve those chains you broke. 
To guard against this evil, let us take a review of the 
ground upon which we now stand, and from thence 



1783.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 279 

carry our thoughts forward for a moment, into the un- 
explored field of expedient. 

"After a pursuit of seven long years, the object for 
which we set out is at length brought within our 
reach — yes, my friends, that suffering courage of yours 
was active once — it has conducted the United States 
of America through a doubtful and bloody war. It 
has placed her in the chair of independency, and 
peace returns again to bless — whom ? A country 
willing to redress your wrongs, cherish your worth, 
and reward your services ? A country courting your 
return to private life, with tears of gratitude, and 
smiles of admiration, longing to divide with you that 
independency which your gallantry has given, and 
those riches which your wounds have preserved ? Is 
this the case ? Or is it rather a country that tramples 
upon your rights, disdains your cries, and insults your 
distresses ? Have you not more than once suggested 
your wishes, and made known your wants to Con- 
gress ? Wants and wishes which gratitude and policy 
should have anticipated rather than evaded; and have 
you not lately in the meek language of entreating 
memorials, begged from their justice, what you could 
no longer expect from their favor ? How have you 
been answered ? Let the letter which you are called 
to consider to-morrow reply. 

" If this, then, be your treatment while the swords 
you wear are necessary for the defence of America, 
what have you to expect from peace, when your voice 
shall sink, and your strength dissipate by division ? 
When those very swords, the instruments and com- 
panions of your glory shall be taken from your sides, 
and no remaining mark of military distinction left but 
your wants, infirmities and scars ? Can you then con- 



28o 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



sent to be the only sufferers by this revolution, and 
retiring from the field, grow old in poverty, wretched- 
ness, and contempt ? Can you consent to wade 
through the vile mire of dependency, and owe the 
miserable remnant of that life to charity, which has 
hitherto been spent in honor? If you can — go — and 
carry with you the jests of Tories and the scorn of 
Whigs — the ridicule, and what is worse, the pity of the 
world. Go, starve, and be forgotten ! But if your 
spirit should revolt at this ; if you have sense enough 
to discover, and spirit enough to oppose tyranny, 
under whatever garb it may assume ; whether it be 
the plain coat of republicanism, or the splendid robe 
of royalty; if you have not yet learned to discriminate 
between a people and a cause, between men and 
principles — awake ; attend to your situation,, and 
redress yourselves. If the present moment be lost, 
every future effort is in vain ; and your threats then, 
will be as empty as your entreaties now. 

" I would advise you, therefore, to come to some 
final opinion upon what you can bear, and what you 
will suffer. If your determination be in any propor- 
tion to your wrongs, carry your appeal from the justice 
to the fears of government. Change the milk and 
water style of your last memorial ; assume a bolder 
tone — decent but lively, spirited, and determined, and 
suspect the man who would advise to more modera 
tion and longer forbearance. Let two or three men 
who can feel as well as write, be appointed to draw 
up your last remonstrance ; for I would no longer give 
it the sueing, soft, unsuccessful epithet of memorial. 
Let it be represented in language that will neither 
dishonor you by its rudeness, nor betray you by its 
fears, what has been promised by Congress, and what 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



281 



has been performed — how long, and how patiently yon 
have suffered — how little you have asked, and how 
much of that little has been denied. Tell them that 
though you were the first, and would wish to be the 
last to encounter danger, though despair itself can 
never drive you into dishonor, it may drive you from 
the field ; that the wound often irritated, and never 
healed, may at length become incurable ; and that the 
slightest mark of indignity from Congress now must 
operate like the grave, and part you forever ; that in 
any political event, the army has its alternative. If 
peace, that nothing shall separate you from your arms 
but death ; if war, that courting the auspices, and in- 
viting the direction of your illustrious leader, you will 
retire to some unsettled country, smile in your turn, 
and mock when their fear cometh on. But let it 
represent also, that should they comply with the 
request of your late memorial, it would make you more 
happy, and them more respectable. That while war 
should continue, you would follow their standard into 
the field, and when it came to an end you would 
withdraw into the shade of private life, and give the 
world another subject of wonder and applause; an 
army victorious over its enemies — victorious over 
itself." 

The reluctance which Congress manifested to com- 
pensate the army for seven years' glorious service, ex- 
cited a temper too favorable to the purposes of the 
writer of this intemperate address, Probably the in- 
fluence of General Washington alone could have 
arrested the rising tempest ; and his firmness and pru- 
dence was equal to the occasion. Silence in him 
would have encouraged the desperate to the prosecu- 
tion of the most rash design ; and strong and violent 



282 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



measures would have enkindled the smothered spark 
into a destructive flame. Noticing in general orders 
the anonymous publication, he expressed his confi- 
dence that the judgment and patriotism of the army 
would forbid their " attention to such an irregular 
invitation, but his own duty," he added, " as well as 
the reputation and the true interest of the army, re- 
quired his disapprobation of such disorderly proceed- 
ings. At the same time, he requested the general 
and field officers, with one officer from each company, 
and a proper representation from the staff of the 
army, to assemble at twelve on Saturday the 15th, at 
the new building, to hear the report of the committee 
deputed by the army to Congress. After mature de- 
liberation, they will devise what further measures 
ought to be adopted as most rational and best calcu- 
lated to obtain the just and important object in view." 
The senior officer in rank was directed to preside, 
and to report the result of their deliberations to the 
Commander-in-Chief. 

The next day a second anonymous address was 
published. The writer affected to consider the orders 
of the General as countenancing the convention, 
recommended in the first publication. 

On the 15th the officers met agreeably to orders, 
and General Gates took the chair. The Commander- 
in-Chief then addressed them. 

" Gentlemen, 

" By an anonymous summons an attempt has been 
made to convene you together. How inconsistent 
with the rules of propriety, how unmilitary, and how 
subversive of all order and discipline, let the good 
sense of the army decide. 



1783.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 283 

"In the moment of this summons, another anony- 
mous production was sent into circulation, addressed 
more to the feelings and passions than to the judg- 
ment of the army. The author of the piece is en- 
titled to much credit for the goodness of his pen ; and 
I could wish he had as much credit for the rectitude 
of his heart ; for, as men see through different optics, 
and are induced by the reflecting faculties of the mind 
to use different means to attain the same end, the au- 
thor of the address should have had more charity than 
to mark for suspicion the man who should recom 
mend moderation and longer forbearance ; or in other 
words, who should not think as he thinks, and act as 
he advises. But he had another plan in view, in 
which candor and liberality of sentiment, regard to 
justice, and love of country, have no- part; and he 
was right to insinuate the darkest suspicion to effect 
the blackest design. That the address was drawn 
with great art, and is designed to answer the most in- 
sidious purposes ; that it is calculated to impress the 
mind with an idea of premeditated injustice in the 
sovereign power of the United States, and rouse all 
those resentments which must unavoidably flow from 
such a belief ; that the secret mover of this scheme, 
whoever he may be, intended to take advantage of the 
passions, while they were warmed by the recollection 
of past distresses, without giving time for cool, delib- 
erative thinking, and that composure of mind which 
is so necessary to give dignity and stability to meas- 
ures, is rendered too obvious, by the mode of con- 
ducting the business, to need other proof than a ref- 
erence to the proceedings. 

" Thus much, gentlemen, I have thought it incum- 
bent on me to observe to you, to show upon what 

Ife v. . : •>.-•, 



284 LIFE 0F WASHINGTON [1783. 

principles I opposed the irregular and hasty meeting 
which was proposed to have been held on Tuesday 
last, and not because I wanted a disposition to give 
you every opportunity, consistent with your own 
honor and the dignity of the army, to make known 
your grievances. If my conduct heretofore has not 
evinced to you, that I have been a faithful friend to 
the army, my declaration of it at this time would be 
equally unavailing and improper. But as I was 
among the first who embarked in the cause of our 
common country ; as I have never left your side one 
moment, but when called from you on public duty ; as I 
have been the constant companion and witness of your 
distresses, and not among the last to feel and acknowl- 
edge your merits ; as I have ever considered my own 
military reputation as inseparably connected with that 
of the army; as my heart has ever expanded with joy 
when I have heard its praises, and my indignation 
has arisen when the mouth of detraction has been 
opened against it ; it can scarcely be supposed at 
this last stage of the war, that I am indifferent to its 
interests. But how are they to be promoted ? The 
way is plain, says the anonymous addresser ! If war 
continue, remove into the unsettled country ; there 
establish yourselves, and leave an ungrateful country 
to defend itself ; — but who are they to defend ? Our 
wives, our children, our farms and other property 
which we leave behind us ? Or in this state of hos- 
tile separation, are we to take the two first (the latter 
cannot be removed), to perish in a wilderness with 
hunger, cold, and nakedness ? 

" If peace takes place, never sheathe your swords," 
says he, " until you have obtained full and ample jus- 
tice." This dreadful alternative of either deserting 



i 7 S3-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 285 

our country m the extremest hour of her distress, or 
turning our arms against it, which is the apparent ob- 
ject, unless Congress can be compelled into instant 
compliance, has something so shocking in it, that hu- 
manity revolts at the idea. My God ! what can this 
writer have in view, by recommending such meas- 
ures ? Can he be a friend of the army ? Can he be a 
friend to this country ? Rather is he not an insidious 
foe ; some emissary, perhaps, from New York, plot 
ting the ruin of both, by sowing the seeds of discord 
and separation between the civil and military powers 
of the continent ? And what a compliment does he 
pay to your understandings, when he recommends 
measures, in either alternative, impracticable in their 
nature ? But here, gentlemen, I will drop the cur- 
tain, because it would be as imprudent in me to as- 
sign my reasons for this opinion, as it w r ould be in- 
sulting to your conception to suppose you stood in 
need of them. A moment's reflection will convince 
every dispassionate mind of the physical impossibility 
of carrying either proposal into execution. There 
might, gentlemen, be an impropriety in my taking 
notice, in this address to you, of an anonymous pro- 
duction ; — but the manner in which that performance 
has been introduced to the army ; the effect it was 
intended to have, together with some other circum- 
stances, will amply justify my observation on the ten- 
dency of that writing. 

" With respect to the advice given by the author, 
to suspect the man who shall recommend moderate 
measures and longer forbearance, I spurn it, as every 
man who regards that liberty and reveres that justice 
for which we contend, undoubtedly must ; for, if men 
are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on 



286 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[173.1. 



a matter which may involve the most serious and 
alarming consequences that can invite the considera- 
tion of mankind, reason is of no use to us. The free- 
dom of speech may be taken away, and dumb and 
silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. I 
cannot in justice to my own belief, and what I have 
great reason to conceive is the intention of Congress, 
conclude this address, without giving it as my decided 
opinion, that that honorable body entertain exalted 
sentiments of the services of the army, and from a full 
conviction of its merits and sufferings, will do it com- 
plete justice. That their endeavors to discover and 
establish funds for this purpose have been unwearied, 
and will not cease until they have succeeded, I have 
not a doubt. 

" But like all other large bodies, where there is a va 
riety of different interests to reconcile, their determma 
tions are slow. Why then should we distrust them 
And in consequence of that distrust, adopt measures 
which may cast a shade over that glory which has 
been so justly acquired, and tarnish the reputation of 
an army which is celebrated through all Europe tor 
its fortitude and patriotism? And for what is this 
done ? To bring the object we seek nearer ? No ; most 
certainly, in my opinion, it will cast it at a greater 
distance. For myself (and I take no merit in giving 
the assurance, being induced to it from principles of 
gratitude, veracity, and justice, and a greatful sense 
of the confidence you have ever placed in me), a recol- 
lection of the cheerful assistance and prompt obe- 
dience I have experienced from you, under every 
vicissitude of fortune, and the sincere affection I feel 
for an army I have so long had the honor to com- 
mand, will oblige me to declare, in this public and 



1783 ] LIFE OF, WASHINGTON. 2 gj 

solemn manner, that in the attainment of complete 
justice for all your toils and dangers, and in the grat- 
ification of every wish, so far as may be done con- 
sistently with the great duty I owe my country, and 
those powers we are bound to respect, you may freely 
command my services to the utmost extent of my 
abilities. 

" While I give you these assurances, and pledge 
myself in the most unequivocal manner to exert what 
ever abilities I am possessed of in your favor, let me 
entreat you, gentlemen, on your part, not to take any 
measures which, viewed in the calm light of reason, 
will lessen the dignity and sully the glory you have 
hitherto maintained : — let me request you to rely on 
the plighted faith of your country, and place a full 
confidence in the purity of the intentions of Congress ; 
that previous to your dissolution as an army, they will 
cause all your accounts to be fairly liquidated, as di- 
rected in the resolutions which were published to you 
two days ago ; and that they will adopt the most ef- 
fectual measures in their power to render ample justice 
to you for your faithful and meritorious services. 
And let me conjure you, in the name of our common 
country, as you value your own sacred honor ; as you 
respect the rights of humanity ; and as you regard the 
military and national character of America, to express 
your utmost horror and detestation of the man who 
wishes, under any specious pretences, to overturn the 
liberties of our country ; and who wickedly attempts 
to open the floodgates of civil discord, and deluge our 
rising empire in blood. 

" By thus determining, and thus acting, you will 
pursue the plain and direct road to the attainment of 
your wishes ; you will defeat the insidious designs of 



288 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



our enemies, who are compelled to resort from open 
force to secret artifice. You will give one more dis- 
tinguished proof of unexampled patriotism and patient 
virtue, rising superior to the pressure of the most 
complicated sufferings ; and you will by the dignity 
of your conduct afford occasion for posterity to say, 
when speaking of the glorious example you have 
exhibited to mankind — had this day been wanting, 
the world had never seen the last stage of perfec- 
tion to which human nature is capable of attaining." 

In the judgment, honor, and friendship of their 
General, the officers placed unbounded confidence ; 
and his recommendations carried irresistible weight. 
The most desperate had not the hardihood to oppose 
his advice. General Knox moved, and Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Putnam seconded a resolution, " assuring him 
that the officers reciprocated his affectionate expres- 
sions with the greatest sincerity of which the human 
heart is capable/' which passed unanimously On 
motion of General Putnam a committee was then 
chosen, consisting of General Knox, Colonel Brooks, 
and Captain Heywood, to prepare resolutions on the 
business before them They reported the following 
resolutions, which on mature deliberation passed 
unanimously :— 

" Resolved unanimously, that at the commencement 
of the present war, the officers of the American army 
engaged in the service of their country from the purest 
love and attachment to the rights and liberties of hu- 
man nature; which motives still exist in the highest 
degree ; and that no circumstances of distress or dan- 
ger shall induce a conduct that may tend to sully the 
reputation and glory which they have acquired at the 
price of their blood and eight years' faithful services." 



1783.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 289 

" Resolved unanimously, that the army continue to 
have an unshaken confidence in the justice of Con- 
gress and their country, and are fully convinced that 
the Representatives of America will not disband or 
disperse the army until their accounts are liquidated, 
the balances accurately ascertained, and adequate 
funds established for payment ; and in this arrange- 
ment, the officers expect that the half pay or a 
commutation for it, should be efficaciously compre- 
hended. 

" Resolved unanimously, that his Excellency the 
Commander-in-Chief be requested to write to his Ex- 
cellency the President of Congress, earnestly entreat- 
ing the most speedy decision of that honorable body 
upon the subject of our late address, which was for- 
warded by a committee of the army, some of whom 
are waiting upon Congress for the result, In the al- 
ternative of peace or war, this event would be highly 
satisfactory, and would produce immediate tranquillity 
in the minds of the army, and prevent any further 
machinations of designing men, to sow discord be- 
tween the civil and military powers of the United 
States. 

" On motion, resolved unanimously, that the officers 
of the American army view with abhorrence and re- 
ject with disdain, the infamous propositions contained 
in a late anonymous address to the officers of the 
army, and resent with indignation the secret attempts 
of some unknown persons to collect the officers to- 
gether, m a manner totally subversive of all discipline 
and good order. 

" Resolved unanimously, that the thanks of the 
officers of the army be given to the committee who 

*9 



290 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1783. 

presented to Congress the late address of the army, 
for the wisdom and prudence with which they have 
conducted that business ; and that a copy of the pro- 
ceedings of this day be transmitted by the President 
to Major General M'Dougal ; and that he be requested 
to continue his solicitations at Congress, until the ob- 
jects of his mission are accomplished." 

Machinations which threatened the army with dis- 
grace, and the country with ruin, being thus happily 
suppressed, General Washington without delay exe- 
cuted his promise to the officers ; and in a letter to 
Congress with feeling and force supported their claims 
upon their country. 

Soon after these proceedings, nine States concurred 
in a resolution, commuting the half-pay into a sum 
equal to five years' whole pay. Still Congress de- 
pended on the States to furnish the funds to enable 
them to fulfil this engagement. 

In April the ratification of the preliminary articles 
of peace between France and Great Britain was re- 
ceived, and on the 19th of that month, a cessation of 
hostilities was proclaimed in the American camp. 

In June General Washington addressed a circular 
letter on the important interests of the Union, to the 
Governors of the several States. — It began : 

" Sir, 

"The great object for which I had the honor to 
hold an appointment in the service of my country, 
being accomplished, I am now preparing to resign it 
into the hands of Congress, and return to that do- 
mestic retirement which it is well known I left with 
the greatest reluctance ; a retirement for which I have 
never ceased to sigh through a long and painful ab- 



1783.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 291 

sence, in which (remote from the noise and trouble of 
the world) I meditate to pass the remainder of life in 
a state of undisturbed repose ; but, before I carry this 
resolution into effect, I think it a duty incumbent on 
me to make this my last official communication, to 
congratulate you on the glorious events which Heaven 
has been pleased to produce in our favor ; to offer my 
sentiments respecting some important subjects which 
appear to me to be intimately connected with the tran- 
quillity of the United States ; to take my leave of 
your Excellency as a public character, and to give my 
final blessing to that country in whose service I have 
spent the prime of my life ; for whose sake I have 
consumed so many anxious days and watchful nights ; 
and whose happiness being extremely dear to me, will 
always constitute no inconsiderable part of my own. 

" Impressed with the liveliest sensibility on this pleas- 
ing occasion, I will claim the indulgence of detailing 
the more copiously on the subject of our mutual feli- 
citation. When we consider the magnitude of the 
prize we contended for, the doubtful nature of the con- 
test, and the favorable manner in which it has termi- 
nated, we shall find the greatest possible reason for 
gratitude and rejoicing: this is a theme that will 
afford infinite delight to every benevolent and liberal 
mind, whether the event in contemplation be consid- 
ered as a source of present enjoyment, or the parent 
of future happiness ; and we shall have equal occasion 
to felicitate ourselves on the lot which Providence has 
assigned us, whether we view it in a natural, political, 
or a moral point of view. 

u The citizens of America, placed in the most envi- 
able condition as the sole lords and proprietors of a 
vast tract of continent, comprehending all the various 



292 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1783. 

soils and climates of the world, and abounding with 
all the necessaries and conveniences of life, are now 
by the late satisfactory pacification acknowledged to 
be possessed of absolute freedom and independency ; 
they are from this period to be considered as the ac- 
tors on a most conspicuous theatre, which seems to 
be peculiarly designed by Providence for the display 
of human greatness and felicity : here they are not 
only surrounded with everything that can contribute 
to the completion of private and domestic enjoyment, 
but Heaven has crowned all its other blessings by 
giving a surer opportunity for political happiness than 
any other nation has ever been favored with. Noth- 
ing can illustrate these observations more forcibly 
than the recollection of the happy conjuncture of 
times and circumstances, under which our republic 
assumed its rank among the nations. 

" The foundation of our empire was not laid in a 
gloomy age of ignorance and superstition, but at an 
epocha when the rights of mankind were better under- 
stood and more clearly defined, than at any former 
period : researches of the human mind after social 
happiness have been carried to a great extent : the 
treasures of knowledge acquired by the labors of phi- 
losophers, sages, and legislators, through a long suc- 
cession of years, are laid open for use, and their col- 
lected wisdom may be happily applied in the establish- 
ment of our forms of government : the free cultiva- 
tion of letters, the unbounded extension of commerce, 
the progressive refinement of manners, the growing 
liberality of sentiment, and, above all, the pure and 
benign light of revelation, have had a meliorating 
influence on mankind, and increased the blessings of 
society. At this auspicious period the United States 



7783.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 293 

came into existence as a nation, and if their citizens 
should not be completely free and happy, the fault 
will be entirely their own. 

" Such is our situation, and such are our prospects ; 
but notwithstanding the cup of blessing is thus reached 
out to us, notwithstanding happiness is ours, if we 
have a disposition to seize the occasion, and make it 
our own, yet it appears to me, there is an option still 
left to the United States of America, whether they 
will be respectable and prosperous, or contemptible 
and miserable as a nation. This is the time of their 
political probation ; this is the moment when the eyes 
of the whole world are turned upon them; this is the 
time to establish or ruin their national character for- 
ever ; this is the favorable moment to give such a 
tone to the Federal Government as will enable it to 
answer the ends of its institution ; or this may be the 
ill-fated moment for relaxing the powers of the Union, 
annihilating the cement of the confederation, and ex 
posing us to become the sport of European politics, 
which may play one State against another, to prevent 
their growing importance, and to serve their own in- 
terested purposes. For, according to the system of 
policy the States shall adopt at this moment, they will 
stand or fall ; and by their confirmation or lapse, it is 
yet to be decided whether the revolution must ulti- 
mately be considered as a blessing or a curse ; a bless- 
ing or a curse, not to the present age alone, for with 
our fate will the destiny of unborn millions be involved. 

" With this conviction of the importance of the 
present crisis, silence in me would be a crime. I will 
therefore speak to your Excellency m the language of 
freedom and sincerity, without disguise. I am aware, 
however, those who differ from me in political senti- 



294 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1783. 

ments, may perhaps remark, I am stepping out of the 
proper line of my duty ; and they may possibly ascribe 
to arrogance or ostentation, what I know is alone the 
result of the purest intention ; but the rectitude of my 
own heart, which disdains such unworthy motives, 
the part I have hitherto acted in life, the determina- 
tion I have formed of not taking any share in public 
business hereafter, the ardent desire I feel and shall 
continue to manifest, of quietly enjoying in private 
life, after all the toils of war, the benefits of a wise 
and liberal government, will, I flatter myself, sooner or 
later, convince my countrymen that I could have no 
sinister views in delivering, with so little reserve, the 
opinions contained in this address. 

" There are four things which I humbly conceive 
are essential to the well-being, I may even venture to 
say, to the existence of the United States, as an inde- 
pendent power. 

" 1st. An indissoluble union of the States under 
one federal head. 

"2dly. A sacred regard to public justice. 

" 3dly. The adoption of a proper peace establish- 
ment And, 

(i 4thly. The prevalence of that pacific and friendly 
disposition among the people of the United States, 
which will induce them to forget their local prejudices 
and policies, to make those mutual concessions which 
are requisite to the general prosperity, and, in some 
instances, to sacrifice their individual advantages to 
the interest cA the community. 

u These a/^ the pillars on which the glorious fabric 
of our independency and national character must be 
supported. Liberty is the basis, and whoever would 
dare to sap the foundation, or overturn the structure, 



1783 ] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 295 

under whatever specious pretext he may attempt it, 
will merit the bitterest execration and the severest 
punishment which can be inflicted by his injured 
country." 

Having dilated on these subjects, the letter was 
thus concluded : — 

" I have thus freely disclosed what I wished to 
make known before I surrendered up my public trust 
to those who committed it to me : the task is now ac- 
complished. I now bid adieu to your Excellency, as 
the Chief Magistrate of your State ; at the same time 
I bid a last farewell to the cares of office, and all the 
employments of public life. 

" It remains, then, to be my final and only request 
that your Excellency will communicate these senti- 
ments to your Legislature, at their next meeting; 
and that they may be considered as the legacy of one 
who has ardently wished, on all occasions, to be useful 
to his country, and who, even in the shade of retire- 
ment, will not fail to implore the Divine benediction 
upon it. 

" I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would 
have you and the State over which you preside in His 
holy protection ; that He would incline the hearts of 
the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and 
obedience to government ; to entertain a brotherly af- 
fection and love for one another, for their fellow-citi- 
zens of the United States at large ; and particularly 
for their brethren who have served in the field ; and 
finally, that He would most graciously be pleased to 
dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to de- 
mean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pa- 
cific temper of mind, which were the characteristics of 
the Divine Author of our blessed religion ; without a 



296 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1783. 

humble imitation of whose example, in these things, 

we can never hope to be a happy nation." 

From this time the disbanding the army engrossed 
the attention of Congress and of the Commander-in- 
Chief. No funds were established to discharge the 
five years' commutation.. Large arrearages of pay 
were due to officers and privates, and it was not in the 
power of government to advance them money even to 
defray the expenses of the journey to their homes. 
To disband the army in a body, under these circum- 
stances, was deemed a measure of too great hazard. 
Congress therefore directed the General not to give 
discharges to the troops which were enlisted for the 
war, until the definite articles of peace should be signed ; 
but to grant furloughs to all non-commissioned offi- 
cers and soldiers of this description who desired them ; 
and they were not ordered to rejoin their regiments. 

Alarmed at this measure, the generals, and officers 
commanding regiments and corps on the Hudson, pre- 
sented an affectionate and respectful address to the 
Commander-in-Chief, in which they expressed a duti- 
ful attachment to the government, but mentioned that 
after the late resolution of Congress they " confidently 
expected that their accounts would be liquidated, the 
balances ascertained, and adequate funds for the pay- 
ment of those balances provided, before they should 
be dispersed or disbanded. ,, On the succeeding day, 
in answer to their address, he observed, " that as no 
man could possibly be better acquainted than himself 
with the past merits and services of the army, so no 
one could possibly be more strongly impressed with 
their present ineligible situation ; feel a keener sensi- 
bility at their distresses ; or more ardently desire to 
alleviate or remove them." He subjoined : — 



1783.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 2 gj 

" Although the officers of the army very well know 
my official situation, that I am only a servant of the 
public, and that it is not with me to dispense with 
orders which it is my duty to carry into execution, yet 
as furloughs in all services are considered as a matter 
of indulgence, and not of compulsion ; as Congress, I 
am persuaded, entertained the best disposition towards 
the army ; and, as I apprehend, in a very short time 
the two principal articles of complaint will be removed ; 
until the further pleasure of Congress can be known, 
I shall not hesitate to comply with the wishes of the 
army, under these reservations only, that officers suf- 
ficient to conduct the men who choose to receive fur- 
loughs, will attend them, either on furlough, or by de- 
tachment." 

This answer proved satisfactory ; good humor pre- 
vailed through the camp, furloughs were generally 
taken ; and in the course of the summer, the greater 
part of the soldiers returned quietly home. 

In October, Congress issued a proclamation, de- 
claring all those soldiers, who had engaged for the war ? 
discharged on the 3d of December. 

While the veteran troops, who had borne the heat 
and burden of the war, left the service unpaid, and 
peaceably returned to the business of private life, 
about eighty new levies stationed at Lancaster in 
Pennsylvania revolted from their officers, and in a 
body marched to Philadelphia. Being there joined by 
two hundred of their companions in arms who were 
quartered in the barracks, they surrounded, with fixed 
bayonets, the State House, in which Congress and the 
Executive Council of Pennsylvania were sitting, and 
sent in a written message threatening the Council 
with the last outrage, if their demands were not, ^ 



298 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1783. 

twenty minutes, granted. The members of Congress 
were not immediately menaced, but they were, for 
several hours, insolently blocked up in their hall. 

As soon as General Washington received intelli- 
gence of the mutiny, he detached General Howe with 
fifteen hundred men to suppress it ; but before he 
reached Philadelphia, the disturbance was without 
bloodshed quieted. In a letter to Congress, General 
Washington thus expressed his indignation at this 
outrage of the military : — 

" While I suffer the most poignant distress in ob- 
serving that a handful of men, contemptible in num- 
bers, and equally so in point of service (if the veteran 
troops from the southward have not been seduced by 
their example), and who are not worthy to be called 
soldiers, should disgrace themselves and their country, 
as the Pennsylvania mutineers have done, by insulting 
the sovereign authority of the United States, and that of 
their own, I feel an inexpressible satisfaction, that even 
this behavior cannot stain the name of the American 
soldiery. It cannot be imputable to, or reflect dis- 
honor on the army at large, but on the contrary it 
will by the striking contrast it exhibits, hold up to 
public view the other troops in the most advantageous 
point of light. Upon taking all the circumstances 
into consideration, I cannot sufficiently express my 
surprise and indignation at the arrogance, the folly, 
and the wickedness of the mutineers ; nor can I suf- 
ficiently admire the fidelity, the bravery, and patriotism 
which must forever signalize the unsullied character 
of the other corps of our army. For when we con- 
sider that these Pennsylvania levies who have now 
mutinied are recruits and soldier of a day, who have 
not borne the heat and burden of the war, and who 



1783] LIFE OF WASHINGTON- 299 

can have in reality very few hardships to complaint 
of ; and when we at the same time recollect that those 
soldiers, who have lately been furloughed from this 
army, are the veterans who have patiently endured 
hunger, nakedness, and cold ; who have suffered and 
bled without a murmur, and who with perfect good 
order, have retired to their homes, without a settle- 
ment of their accounts, or a farthing of money in their 
pockets, we shall be as much astonished at the virtues 
of the latter, as we are struck with horror and detesta- 
tion at the proceedings of the former ; and every 
candid mind, without indulging ill-grounded prejudices, 
will undoubtedly make the proper discrimination.'" 

On the 25th of November, the British troops evacu- 
ated New York. General Washington, accompanied 
by Governor Clinton, by a number of other civil and 
military officers, and by many respectable citizens, 
made his public entry on horseback into the city. 

His military course being honorably and success- 
fully terminated, the painful task remained to bid adieu 
to the companions of his toils and dangers. The clos- 
ing interview took place on the 4th of December. At 
noon the principal officers of the army assembled at 
Francis's tavern, and their General soon entered the 
room. His emotions were too great for concealment. 
Filling a glass of wine he turned to them and said, 
" With a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take 
leave of you ; I most devoutly wish that your latter 
days may be as prosperous and happy, as your former 
ones have been glorious and honorable." He drank 
the wine, and proceeded : " I cannot come to each of 
you to take my leave, but shall be obliged to you, if 
each of you will come and take me by the hand." 
General Knox being the nearest, turned to him. In- 



3 oo LIFE OF WASHINGTON [1783. 

capable of utterance, General Washington grasped 
his hand and embraced him. In the same affecting 
manner, he took leave of each succeeding officer. 
From every eye dropped the tear of sensibility, and not 
a single word interrupted the tenderness of the scene. 
He immediately left the room, and passed through a 
corps of light infantry, on his way to Whitehall, 
where a barge waited to convey him to Powles' Hook. 
The whole company followed with feelings which 
words cannot express. Having entered the barge, he 
turned, and waving his hat, bade them a silent adieu. 

Congress was then in session at Annapolis. To 
this honorable body, the General immediately repaired 
to resign his military command.* 

* On his way to Annapolis, he stopped at Philadelphia to set- 
tle his accounts ; of which transaction Dr. Gordon makes the 
following statement : 

" While in the city, he delivered in his accounts to the Comp- 
troller, down to December 13th, all in his own hand-writing, 
and every entry made in the most particular manner, stating the 
occasion of each charge, so as to give the least trouble in ex- 
amining and comparing them with the vouchers with which they 
were attended. 

The heads are as follows, copied from the folio i7ianuscript pa- 
per book in the file of the treasury office, No. 3700, being a 
black box of tin, co?itaining, under lock and key, both that 



and the vouchers. 
Total of Expenditures from 1775 to 1783, exclusive 
of Provisions from Commissaries and Contrac- 
tors, and of liquors, &c. fro;^i them and others,. . . .^3387 14 4 

* Secret intelligence and service, 1982 10 o 

Spent in reconnoitring and travelling, 1874 83 

Miscellaneous charges, 2952 10 1 

Expended besides, dollars according to the scale 

of depreciation, 61 14 14 o 



,£16,311 17 1 

* " Two hundred guineas advanced to General M'Dougal are not included in the 
^1982 10, not being yet settled, but included in come of the other charges, and so 
reckoned in the general sum." 



I73.3-] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



301 



He arrived on the 19th, and on the next day in- 
formed Congress of his desire to resign into their 
hands the commission with which they had invested 
him as Commander-in-Chief of the American armies ; 
and he asked in what form he should present his 
resignation. Congress resolved that it should be at a 
public audience on the succeeding Tuesday. When 
the moment of this interesting transaction arrived, 
the gallery was crowded with spectators ; and many 
of the civil officers of the State and of the principal 
officers of the army ; the French Consul-General, and 
a large body of respectable citizens were admitted to 

Note. 104,364 of the dollars were received after March 1780, 
and although credited forty for one, many did not fetch at the 
rate of a hundred for one, while 27,775 of them are returned 
without deducting anything from the above account (and, there- 
fore, actually made a present of to the public.) 
(General Washington's account) from June, 1775, 

to the end of Jun^, 1783, ,£16,311 17 1 

Expenditure from July 1, 1783, to December 13 1 71 7 5 4 

{Added afterwards) from thence to December 28,. ... 213 8 4 
Mrs. Washington's travelling expenses in coming 

to the General and returning, 1064 1 o 

^19,306 11 9 

Lawful money of Virginia, the same as the Massa- 
chusetts, or ,£14,479 18 9f, sterling. 

"The General entered in his book — "I find upon the final 
adjustment of these accounts, that I am a considerable loser — 
my disbursements falling a good deal short of my receipts, and 
the money I had upon hand of my own ; foi besides the sums I 
carried with me to Cambridge, in 1775 I received monies after- 
wards on private account in 1777, an d since which (except 
small sums that I had occasion to apply to private uses) were all 
expended in the public service ; through hurry I suppose, and 
the perplexity of business (for I know not how else to account 
for the deficiency) I have omitted to charge the same, whilst 
every debit against me is here credited. July 1, 1783.'' 



3 o2 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1783. 

the floor of the Hall. The members of Congress, 
representing the sovereignty of the nation, were seated 
and covered. At twelve o'clock, General Washing- 
ton was introduced and conducted to a chair. After 
a short interval the Secretary commanded silence. 
The President then informed the General, " that the 
United States in Congress assembled, were prepared 
to receive his communications." With dignity of 
manner suited to the occasion, he arose and addressed 
them : — 

" Mr President, 

" The great events, on which my resignation de- 
pended, having at length taken place, I have now the 
honor of offering my sincere congratulations to Con- 
gress, and of presenting myself before them to sur* 
render into their hands the trust committed to me, 
and to claim the indulgence of retiring from the ser- 
vice of my country. 

" Happy in the confirmation of our independence 
and sovereignty, and pleased with the opportunity 
afforded the United States of becoming a respectable 
nation, I resign, with satisfaction, the appointment I 
accepted with diffidence ; a diffidence in my abilities 
to accomplish so arduous a task, which, however, 
was superseded by a confidence in the rectitude of 
our cause, the support of the supreme power of the 
Union, and the patronage of Heaven, 

" The successful termination of the war has veri- 
fied the most sanguine expectations ; and my grati- 
tude for the interposition of Providence, and the as- 
sistance I have received from my countrymen, in- 
creases with every review of the momentous contest. 

" While I repeat my obligations to the army in 
general, I should do injustice to my own feelings not 



1783.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 303 

to acknowledge, in this place, the peculiar services 
and distinguished merits of the gentlemen who have 
been attached to my person during the war. It was 
impossible the choice of confidential officers to com- 
pose my family should have been more fortunate. 
Permit me, sir, to recommend in particular, those who 
have continued in the service to the present moment, 
as worthy of the favorable notice and patronage of 
Congress. 

" I consider it as an indispensable duty to close 
this last solemn act of my official life, by commending 
the interests of our dearest country to the protection 
of Almighty God, and those who have the superinten- 
dence of them to his holy keeping. 

" Having now finished the work assigned me, I re- 
tire from the great theatre of action, and bidding an 
affectionate farewell to this august body, under whose 
orders I have so long acted, I here offer my commis- 
sion, and take my leave of all the employments of pub- 
lic life." 

Having advanced to the chair and delivered the 
President his commission, he received from him the 
following reply :— 

" Sir, 

" The United States in Congress assembled, re- 
ceive, with emotions too affecting for utterance, the 
solemn resignation of the authorities under which you 
have led their troops with success through a perilous 
and a doubtful war. 

u Called upon by your country to defend its in- 
vaded rights, you accepted the sacred charge, before 
it had formed alliances, and whilst it was without 
filnds or a government to support you. 

" You have conducted the great military contest 



304 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1783. 

with wisdom and fortitude, invariably regarding the 
rights of the civil power, through all disasters and 
changes. You have by the love and confidence of 
your fellow-citizens, enable them to display their mar- 
tial genius, and transmit their fame to posterity. 
You have persevered, till these United States, aided 
by a magnanimous king and nation, have been en- 
abled, under a just Providence, to close the war in 
.treedom, safety, and independence ; on which happy 
event, we sincerely join you in congratulations. 

" Having defended the standard of liberty in this 
new world ; having taught a lesson useful to those 
who inflict, and to those who feel oppression, you re- 
tire from the great theatre of action, with the blessings 
of your fellow-citizens ; but the glory of your virtues 
will not terminate with your military command; it 
will continue to animate remotest ages, 

" We feel, with you, our obligations to the army in 
general, and will particularly charge ourselves with the 
interest of those confidential officers who have at- 
tended your person to this affecting moment, 

" We join you in commending the interests of our 
dearest country to the protection of Almighty God, 
beseeching him to dispose the hearts and minds of its 
citizens, to improve the opportunity afforded them of 
becoming a happy arid respectable nation, And for 
you, we address to him our earnest prayers, that a life 
so beloved, may be fostered with all his care ; that 
your days may be as happy as they have been illus- 
trious ; and that he will finally give you that reward 
which this world cannot give." 

The General immediately retired from the hall of 
Congress. The minds of the spectators were deeply 
impressed by the scene. The recollection of the cir- 



1783 ] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 305 

cumstances of the country at the time the commission 
was accepted, the events that had since taken place, 
and the glorious issue of the conflict conspired to give 
the scene the most lively interest. 

His country being exalted to the dignity of a sove- 
reign and independent nation, General Washington 
with great satisfaction resigned the arduous duties and 
high responsibility of his military command. He re- 
paired to Mount Vernon, in the delightful prospect of 
spending the residue of his days in the bosom of do- 
mestic life. 

With an immaculate character he had passed 
through all the complicated transactions of a revolu- 
tionary war ; and had established an immortal reputa- 
tion as a soldier and a patriot, throughout the civi- 
lized world. To his retirement he carried the profound 
veneration and most lively affection of his grateful 
countrymen. In the estimation of his friends, the 
measure of his honor was full. The extent of their 
wishes was, that no unpropitious event might take 
place to tarnish the lustre of his reputation ; but that 
in peace he might descend to the grave, with his laurel 
crown unfaded on his head. 

20 



306 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1784. 



CHAPTER X. 

General Washington in Retirement — His Pursuits — Votes of 
Congress and of the Legislature of Virginia respecting him — 
His Visitors and Correspondents — His Plans to improve the 
Navigation of the Potomac and James Rivers — Declines 
the grant of Virginia — His Advice to the Cincinnati — State of 
Public Affairs — National Convention — General Washington 
its President — Federal Constitution recommended and adopt- 
ed — General Washington requested to consent to administer 
the Government — He is chosen President of the United 
States — Sets out for the Seat of Government — Attention 
shown him on his Journey — His Reception at New York. 

1784. Peace being restored to his country upon 
the broad basis of Independence, General Washing- 
ton, with supreme delight, retired to the pursuits of 
private life. In a letter to Governor Clinton, written 
three days after his arrival at Mount Vernon, he thus 
expressed the grateful feelings of his heart on being 
relieved from the weight of his public station : " The 
scene is at length closed. I feel myself eased of a 
load of public care, and hope to spend the remainder 
of my days in cultivating the affections of good men, 
and in the practice of the domestic virtues." 

This sentiment was more fully expressed to the 
Marquis La Fayette : " I have become a private citi- 
zen on the banks of the Potomac, and under the 
shadow of my own vine and own fig tree, free from 
the bustle of a camp, and the busy scenes of public 
life, I am solacing myself with those tranquil enjoy- 
ments, of which the soldier who is ever in pursuit of 
fame, the statesman whose watchful days and sleepless 



1784.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 307 

nights are spent in devising schemes to promote the 
welfare of his own, perhaps the ruin of other countries 
(as if the globe was insufficient for us all) and the 
courtier who is always watching the countenance of 
his Prince in the hope of catching a gracious smile, 
can have very little conception. I have not only 
retired from all public employments, but am retiring 
within myself, and shall be able to view the solitary 
walk and tread the paths of private life with heartfelt 
satisfaction. Envious of none, I am determined to be 
pleased with all ; and this, my dear friend, being the 
order of my march, I will move down the stream of 
life, until I sleep with my fathers.'' 

But delighted as he was with his domestic enjoy- 
ments, he found it to be the work of time to divest 
himself of the feelings and habits formed in his public 
station. " I am just beginning," said he in a letter to 
a friend, " to experience the ease and freedom from 
public cares, which however desirable, takes some 
time to realize ; for strange as it may seem, it is 
nevertheless true, that it was not until lately I could 
get the better of my usual custom of ruminating as 
soon as I awoke in the morning, on the business of 
the ensuing day ; and of my surprise at finding, after 
revolving many things in my mind, that I was no 
longer a public man, or had anything to do with public 
transactions. I feel now, how r ever, as I conceive a 
wearied traveller must do, who, after treading many a 
painful step with a heavy burden on his shoulders, is 
eased of the latter, having reached the haven to wiiich 
all the former were directed, and from his house-top is 
looking back and tracing with an eager eye, the mean- 
ders by which he escaped the quicksands and mires 
which lay in his way, and into which none but the all- 



308 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1784, 

powerful Guide and Dispenser of human events could 
have prevented his falling/' 

Soon after the proclamation of peace, Congress 
unanimously resolved to erect at the place which 
should be established as the permanent seat of govern- 
ment, an equestrian statue of General Washington. 
This resolution, however, has not yet been carried 
into effect. 

Virginia also bore an honorable testimony of the 
sense entertained of the services of her distinguished 
citizen. In a spacious area in the centre of the capi- 
tal of that State, she erected a marble statue of him, 
with the following inscription on its pedestal : — 

" The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of 
Virginia have caused this statue to be erected as a 
monument of affection and gratitude to GEORGE 
WASHINGTON, who, uniting in the endowments of 
the HERO the virtues of the PATRIOT, and exert- 
ing both in the establishment of the liberties of his 
country, has rendered his name dear to his fellow- 
citizens, and given the world an immortal example of 
true glory." 

In addition to these expressions of public venera- 
tion, innumerable addresses from literary and other 
incorporations were presented to him, which, in ardent 
language, expressed the veneration universally felt for 
his character, and the admiration entertained for his 
services. His well-balanced mind bore these public and 
private honors without a symptom of vanity or pride. 

The pursuits of General Washington at this period 
were a renewal of habits formed at an earlier part of 
life, and a recurrence to employments in which he 
ever took delight ; and he experienced nothing of 
that dissatisfaction and listlessness of which gentle- 



1784J LIFE OF WASHINGTON. ^ 

men often complain, who leave the cares of a public 
station for the tranquil scenes of retirement. The 
improvement of American husbandry engaged his close 
attention, and in the prosecution of plans adapted to 
this purpose, he entered into a correspondence with 
Mr. Arthur Young and other distinguished European 
agriculturists. The result of their information, and of 
his own experience, he applied to amend his farming 
implements, to improve his breed of cattle, and in 
various experiments, suited to the soil he cultivated. 
The plans which succeeded with him, he recommended 
to the farmers around him. 

But even in the shade of Mount Vernon, the time 
of General Washington was not wholly at his own 
disposal. Every foreigner of distinction who visited 
the United States was urgent for an introduction to 
the late Commander-in-Chief; and every American of 
any consequence who was about to cross the Atlantic 
was ambitious to obtain letters from him to celebrated 
characters in Europe. With numbers of the officers 
of the late army, with many of the political characters 
of his own country, and with several eminent indi- 
viduals of Europe, he held a correspondence. Cere- 
monious visitors and officious correspondents became 
oppressive to him, and in a letter to a friend, he thus 
complained of the burden of them : " It is not, my 
dear sir, the letters of my friends which give me 
trouble, or add aught to my perplexity. I receive 
them with pleasure, and pay as much attention to 
them as my avocations will permit. It is references 
to old matters with which I have nothing to do ; ap- 
plications which often times cannot be complied with ; 
inquiries to satisfy which would employ the pen of an 
historian ; letters of compliment, as unmeaning, per- 



3IO LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1784. 

haps, as they are troublesome, but which must be 
attended to ; and the common place business, which 
employ my pen and my time, often disagreeably. 
Indeed, these, with company, deprive me of exercise ; 
and, unless I can obtain relief, must be productive of 
disagreeable consequences. Already, I begin to feel 
their effects. Heavy and painful oppressions of the 
head, and other disagreeable sensations often trouble 
me. I am therefore determined to employ some per- 
son who shall ease me of the drudgery of this business. 
To correspond with those I love is among my highest 
gratifications. Letters of friendship require no study ; 
the communications they contain flow with ease ; and 
allowances are expected and are made. But this is 
not the case with those which require research, con- 
sideration, and recollection/' At length he engaged 
a young gentleman of talents and education, who 
relieved him from a great part of these irksome atten- 
tions. 

The patriotic mind of General Washington could 
not however he engrossed by his own concerns. In 
his retirement, he with solicitude watched over the 
interests of his country. The improvement of its in- 
land navigation early engaged his reflections. Plans 
which the war had interrupted, were now resumed 
upon an enlarged scale. This year he visited the 
western country as far as Pittsburg, and having col- 
lected the necessary information, he opened his scheme 
to Mr. Harrison, then Governor of Virginia. This 
was to render the rivers Potomac and James navigable 
as high as practicable ; to take accurate surveys of 
the country between these rivers and the streams 
which empty into the Ohio, and find the most advan- 
tageous portages between them ; to survey the waters 



s 7 34.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 3II 

west of the Ohio, which empty into the lakes ; and to 
open such inland navigation between these waters, as 
would secure the trade of the western country to Vir- 
ginia and Maryland. " Nature/' he observed, " had 
made such an ample display of her bounties in those 
regions, that the more the country was explored the 
more it would rise in estimation." He was persuaded 
that Pennsylvania and New York would adopt meas- 
ures to direct the trade of that country to their sea- 
ports, and he was anxious that his native State should 
seasonably avail herself of the advantages she pos- 
sessed to secure her share in it. " I am not/' he declared, 
"for discouraging the exertions of any State to draw 
the commerce of the western country to its seaports. 
The more communications we open to it, the closer 
we bind that rising world (for it indeed may be so 
called) to our interests, and the greater strength shall 
we acquire by it. Those to whom nature affords the 
best communication will, if they are wise, enjoy the 
greatest share of the trade. All I would be under- 
stood to mean, therefore, is, that the gifts of Providence 
may not be neglected." But political motives had 
higher influence in this transaction than commercial. 
" I need not remark to you, Sir," said he, in his com- 
munication to the Governor of Virginia, " that the 
flanks and rear of the United States are possessed by 
other powers, and formidable ones too ; nor need I 
press the necessity of applying the cement of interest 
to bind all parts of the Union together by indissoluble 
bonds ; especially of binding that part of it which lies 
immediately west of us, to the Middle States, For 
what ties, let me ask, should we have upon those 
people, how entirely unconnected with them shall we 
be, and what troubles may we not apprehend, if the 



3 i2 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1784. 

Spaniards on their right, and Great Britain on their 
left, instead of throwing impediments in their way as 
they now do, should hold out lures for their trade and 
alliance ? When they get strength, which will be 
sooner than most people conceive, what will be the 
consequence of their having formed close commercial 
connections w T ith both, or either of those powers, it 
needs not, in my opinion, the gift of prophecy to fore- 
tell. 

" The western settlers (I speak now from my own 
observations) stand as it were upon a pivot. The 
touch of a feather would turn them any w r ay. Until 
the Spaniards (very unwisely as I think) threw diffi- 
culties in their way, they looked down the Mississippi ; 
and they looked that way for no other reason than 
because they could gently glide down the stream ; 
without considering perhaps the fatigues of the voyage 
back again, and the time necessary for its performance, 
and because they have no other means of coming to 
us, but by a long land transportation through unim- 
proved roads." 

These recommendations were not lost. Under the 
patronage of the governments of Virginia and Mary- 
land, two companies were formed for opening the 
navigation of the Potomac and the James. Of both 
which General Washington consented to be the 
president. The Legislature of Virginia, by a resolu- 
tion which passed unanimously, directed the treasurer 
of the State to subscribe for one hundred and fifty 
shares in each company for the benefit of General 
Washington. The appropriation was made in a 
manner the most affecting to a noble mind. The 
Assembly expressed a wish, that while the improve- 
ments of their inland navigation were monuments of 



1784.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 313 

his glory, they might also be monuments of his 
country's gratitude. The donation placed him in a 
very delicate and embarassed situation. The feelings 
excited by this generous and honorable act of his 
State, he fully expressed to the friend, who informed 
him of the passage of the bill. " It is not easy for me 
to decide by which my mind was most affected upon 
the receipt of your letter of the sixth instant — surprise 
or gratitude. Both were greater than I had words to 
express. The attention and good wishes which the 
Assembly has evinced by their act for vesting in me 
one hundred and fifty shares in the navigation of the 
rivers Potomac and James, is more than mere com- 
pliment — there is an unequivocal and substantial 
meaning annexed. But, believe me, Sir, no circum- 
stances has happened since I left the walks of public 
life which has so much embarrassed me. On the one 
hand, I consider this act, as I have already observed, 
as a noble and unequivocal proof of the good opinion, 
the affection, and disposition of my country to serve 
me ; and I should be hurt, if by declining the accept- 
ance of it, my refusal should be construed into disre- 
spect, or the smallest slight upon the general inten- 
tion of the Legislature ; or that an ostentatious dis* 
play of disinterestedness, or public virtue, was thq 
source of refusal. 

" On the other hand, it is really my wish to have 
my mind and my actions, which are the result of re- 
flection, as free and independent as the air, that I may 
be more at liberty (in things which my opportunities 
and experience have brought me to the knowledge of 
to express my sentiments, and if necessary, to suggest 
what may occur to me, under the fullest conviction 
that although my judgment may be arraigned, there 



314 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1784. 

will be no suspicion that sinister motives had the 
smallest influence in the suggestion. Not content 
then with the bare consciousness of my having in all 
this navigation business, acted upon the clearest 
conviction of the political importance of the measure, 
I would wish that every individual who may hear that 
it was a favorite plan of mine, may know also, that 
I had no other motive for promoting it, than the ad- 
vantage of which I conceived it would be productive 
to the Union at large, and to this State in particular, 
by cementing the eastern and western territory to- 
gether, at the same time that it will give vigor and in- 
crease to our commerce, and be a convenience to 
our citizens. 

" How would this matter be viewed then by the 
eye of the world, and what opinion would be formed 
when it comes to be related that G***** w********n 
exerted himself to effect this work, and that G***** 
W********n has received twenty thousand dollars and 
five thousand pounds sterling of the public money as 
an interest therein ? Would not this (if I am entitled 
to any merit for the part I have performed, and with 
out it there is no foundation for the act) deprive me 
of the principal thing which is laudable in my con- 
duct? Would it not in some respects be considered 
in the same light as a pension ? And would not the 
apprehension of this induce me to offer my sentiments 
in future with the more reluctance ? In a word, under 
whatever pretence, and however customary these gra- 
tuities may be in other countries, should I not thence- 
forward be considered as a dependent ? One mo- 
ment's thought of which would give me more pain 
than I should receive pleasure from the product of 
all the tolls, was every farthing of them vested in me." 



1784.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 3^ 

After great deliberation, he determined to appropri- 
ate the shares to such public uses as the Legislatures 
should approve. In communicating this determina- 
tion through the Governor to the General Assembly, he 
begged him to assure them that he was " filled on the 
occasion with every sentiment which can flow from a 
heart warm with love to his country, sensible to every 
token of its approbation and affection, and solicitous 
to testify in every instance a respectful attention to 
its wishes." According to his desire, the shares 
were appropriated to the support of a college in the 
vicinity of each of those rivers. 

The Cincinnati had in their original constitution 
secured perpetuity of existence to their society. The 
eldest male posterity of the officers were to succeed to 
the places of their fathers, and in the failure of them 
a collateral branch might be introduced. Individuals 
also of the respective States, distinguished for their 
talents and patriotism, might be admitted as honorary 
members for life. In this part of the institution, some 
American patriots thought they perceived the seeds 
of an order of nobility, and public jealousy was ex- 
cited against the society. General Washington, 
their President, conceived that if popular prejudices 
could not be removed, the society ought " to yield to 
them in a degree, and not suffer that which was in- 
tended for the best of purposes to produce a bad one." 
On full inquiry, he found that objections to the insti- 
tution were general throughout the United States, 
under the apprehension that it would prove dangerous 
to public liberty; he therefore exerted his influence 
among the officers to induce them to drop the offen- 
sive part of the institution, and at the annual meeting 
in May 1787, the hereditary principle, and the power 



316 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1784-7. 

to adopt honorary members, were expunged from the 
constitution. This modification fully removed the 
public apprehension. 

Experience proved the articles under which the 
United States originally confederated to be inadequate 
to the purposes of national government ; and wise and 
good men in every part of the Union anxiously looked 
forward to a crisis in public affairs. Many of General 
Washington's friends intimated to him that the occa- 
sion would call for his personal influence. Mr. Jay, 
in letters written in the spring and summer of 1786, 
with feeling described the state of the country : " You 
have wisely retired from public employments, and 
calmly view from the temple of fame, the various ex- 
ertions of that sovereignty and independence, which 
Providence has enabled you to be so greatly and 
gloriously instrumental in securing to your country; 
yet I am persuaded that you cannot view them with 
the eye of an unconcerned spectator. 

" Experience has pointed out errors in our na- 
tional government which call for correction, and which 
threaten to blast the fruit we expected from the tree 
of liberty. An opinion begins to prevail that a gen- 
eral convention for revising the articles of confedera- 
tion would be expedient. Whether the people are yet 
ripe for such a measure, or whether the system pro- 
posed to be obtained by it is only to be expected from 
calamity and commotion is difficult to ascertain. 

" I think we are in a delicate situation, and a va- 
riety of considerations and circumstances give me un- 
easiness. It is in contemplation to take measures for 
forming a general convention. The plan is not ma- 
tured. If it should be well connected and take effect, 
I am fervent in my wishes that it may comport with 



1784-7-] ^IFE OF WASHINGTON. ^ 

the line of life you have marked out for yourself, to 
favor your country with your counsels on such an 
important and single occasion. 

" Our affairs seem to lead to some crisis, something 
that I cannot foresee of conjecture. I am uneasy and 
apprehensive, more so than during the war. Then 
we had a fixed object, and though the means and time 
of obtaining it were problematical, yet I did firmly be- 
lieve that we should ultimately succeed, because I did 
firmly believe that justice was with us. The case is 
now altered. We are going and doing wrong, and 
therefore I look forward to evils and calamities, but 
without being able to guess at the instrument, nature, 
or measures of them. 

"That we shall again recover, and things again go 
well, I have no doubt. Such a variety of circum- 
stances would not, almost miraculously, have combined 
to liberate and make us a nation, for transient and un- 
important purposes. I therefore believe that we are 
yet to become a great and respectable people ; but 
when or how, only the spirit of prophecy can discern. 

What I most fear is, that the better kind of people 
(by which I mean the people who are orderly and in- 
dustrious, who are content with their situations, and 
not uneasy in their circumstances) will be led by the 
insecurity of property, the loss of confidence in their 
rulers, and the want of public faith and rectitude, to 
consider the charms of liberty as imaginary and de- 
lusive. A state of uncertainty and fluctuation must 
disgust and alarm such men, and prepare their minds 
for almost any change that may promise them quiet 
and security." 

To these weighty communications General Wash- 
ington replied ; — 



318 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1784-7. 

" Your sentiments that our affairs are drawing ra- 
pidly to a crisis, accord with own. What the event 
will be, is also beyond the reach of my foreseight. 
We have errors to correct ; we have probably had 
too good an opinion of human nature, in forming our 
confederation. Experience has taught us that men 
will not adopt and carry into execution, measures the 
best calculated for their own good, without the inter- 
vention of coercive power. I do not conceive we can 
exist long as a nation without lodging, somewhere, a 
power which will pervade the whole Union in as 
energetic a manner as the authority of the State gov- 
ernments extends over the several States. To be fear- 
ful of investing Congress, constituted as that body is, 
with ample authorities for national purposes, appears 
to me the very climax of popular absurdity and mad- 
ness. Could Congress exert them for the detriment 
of the people, without injuring themselves in an equal 
or greater proportion ? Are not their interests insep- 
arably connected with those of their constituents ? 
By the rotation of appointments, must they not mingle 
frequently with the mass of citizens ? Is it not rather 
to be apprehended, if they were not possessed of the 
powers before described, that the individual members 
would be induced to use them, on many occasions, very 
timidly and inefficaciously, for fear of losing their 
popularity and future election ? We must take human 
nature as we find it ; perfection falls not to the share 
of mortals. 

" What then is to be done ? Things cannot go on 
in the same strain forever. It is much to be feared, 
as you observe, that the better kind of people, being 
disgusted with these circumstances, will have their 
minds prepared for any revolution whatever. We are 



1784-7] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 319 

apt to run from one extreme to another. To anticipate 
and prevent disastrous contingencies, would be the 
part of wisdom and patriotism. 

" What astonishing changes a few years are capable 
of producing ! I am told that even respectable charac- 
ters speak of a monarchical form of government with- 
out horror. From thinking proceeds speaking, thence 
to acting is often but a single step. But how irrevo- 
cable and tremendous! what a triumph for our en- 
emies to verify their predictions ! what a triumph for 
the advocates of despotism to find that we are inca- 
pable of governing ourselves, and that systems, found- 
ed on the basis of equal liberty, are merely ideal and 
fallacious ! Would to God that wise measures may be 
taken in time to avert the consequences we have but 
too much reason to apprehend. 

" Retired as I am from the world, I frankly ac- 
knowledge I cannot feel myself an unconcerned 
spectator. Yet having happily assisted in bringing 
the ship into port, and having been fairly discharged, 
it is not my business to embark again on the sea of 
troubles. 

" Nor could it be expected that my sentiments and 
opinions would have much weight on the minds of my 
countrymen. They have been neglected, though given 
as a last legacy in a most solemn manner. I then 
perhaps had some claims to public attention. I con- 
sider myself as having none at present." 

When the plan of a convention was ripened, and 
its meeting appointed to be had at Philadelphia in May, 
1787, a respectable character in Virginia communi- 
cated to General Washington the intention of that 
State to elect him one of her representatives, on this 
important occasion. He explicitly declined being a, 



320 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1784-7 



candidate, yet the Legislature placed him at the head 
of her delegation, in the hope that mature reflection 
would induce him to attend upon the service. The 
Governor of the State, Mr. Randolph, informed him 
of his appointment, by the following letter : " By the 
enclosed act you will readily discover that the As- 
sembly are alarmed at the storms which threaten the 
United States. What our enemies have foretold seems 
to be hastening to its accomplishment, and cannot be 
frustrated but by an instantaneous, zealous, and steady 
union among the friends of the federal government. 
To you I need not press our present dangers. The 
inefficacy of Congress you have often felt in your 
official character ; the increasing languor of our as- 
sociated republics you hourly see ; and a dissolution 
would be, I know, to you, a source of the deepest 
mortification. I freely then entreat you to accept 
the unanimous appointment of the General Assem- 
bly to the convention at Philadelphia. For the 
gloomy prospect still admits one ray of hope, that 
those who began, carried on, and consummated the 
revolution, can yet restore America from the impend- 
ing ruin." 

" Sensible as I am," said the General in his answer, 
" of the honor conferred on me by the General As- 
sembly of this commonwealth, in appointing me one 
of the deputies to a convention proposed to be held in 
the city of Philadelphia in May next, for the purpose 
of revising the federal constitution ; and desirous as I 
am on all occasions of testifying a ready obedience to 
the calls of my country— yet, sir, there exist at this 
moment, circumstances which I am persuaded will 
render this fresh instance of confidence incompatible 
with other measures which I had previously adopted, 



1784-7 ] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 321 

and from which seeing little prospect of disengaging 
myself, it would be disingenuous not to express a wish 
that some other character on whom greater reliance 
can be had, may be substituted in my place, the prob- 
ability of my non-attendance being too great to con- 
tinue my appointment. 

" As no mind can be more deeply impressed than 
mine is with the critical situation of our affairs, re- 
sulting in a great measure from the want of efficient 
powers in the federal head, and due respect to its 
ordinances, so consequently those who do engage in 
the important business of removing- these defects, 
will carry with them every good wish of mine, which 
the best dispositions towards their obtainment can 
bestow. ,, 

The Governor declined the acceptance of his re- 
signation of the appointment, and begged him to sus- 
pend his determination until the approach of the 
period of the meeting of convention, that his final 
judgment might be the result of a full acquaintance 
with all circumstances. 

Thus situated, the General reviewed the subject, 
that he might upon thorough deliberation make the 
decision which duty and patriotism enjoined. He 
had, by a circular letter to the State societies, declined 
being re-elected the President of the Cincinnati, and 
had announced that he should not attend their general 
meeting at Philedelphia on the next May ; and he ap- 
prehended, that if he attended the convention at the 
time and place of their meeting, that he should give 
offence to all the officers of the late army who com- 
posed this body. He was under apprehension that the 
States would not be generally represented on this oc- 
casion, and that a failure in the plan would diminish 

21 



322 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [17S7. 

the personal influence of those who engaged in it. 
Some of his confidential friends were of opinion that 
the occasion did not require his interposition, and 
that he ought to reserve himself for a state of things 
which would unequivocally demand his agency and 
influence. Even on the supposition that the plan 
should succeed, they thought that he ought not to 
engage in it ; because his having been in Convention 
would obligate him to make exertions to carry the 
measures that body might recommend, into effect, 
and would necessarily " sweep him into the tide of 
public affairs." His own experience since the close 
of the revolutionary war created 111 his mind serious 
doubts, whether the respective States would quietly 
adopt any system calculated to give stability and 
vigor to the national government. " As we could 
not," to use his own language, " remain quiet more 
than three or four years in times of peace, under the 
constitutions of our own choosing, which were be- 
lieved in many States to have been formed with delib- 
eration and wisdom, I see little prospect either of 
our agreeing on any other, or that we should remain 
long satisfied under it, if we could. Yet I would wish 
anything and everything essayed to prevent the 
effusion of blood, and to divert the humiliating and 
contemptible figure we are about to make in the an- 
nals of mankind." 

These considerations operated powerfully to con- 
firm him in the opinion first formed, not to attend the 
convention. 

On the other hand, he realized the greatness of the 
public stake. The confederation was universally con- 
sidered as a nullity. The advice of a convention, 
composed of respectable characters from every part 



1787.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 323 

of the Union, would probably have great influence 
with the community, whether it should be to amend 
the articles of the old government, or to form a new 
constitution. 

Amidst the various sentiments which at this time 
prevailed, respecting the state of public affairs, many 
entertained the supposition that the " times must be 
worse before they could be better/' and that the 
American people could be induced to establish an 
efficient and liberal national government only by the 
scourge of anarchy. Some seemed to think that the 
experiment of a republican government in America 
had already failed, and that one more energetic must 
soon by violence be introduced. General Washing- 
ton entertained some apprehension that his declining 
to attend the convention would be considered as a 
dereliction of republican principles. 

While he was balancing these opposite circum- 
stances in his mind, the insurrection of Massachusetts 
occurred, which turned the scale of opinion in favor 
of his joining the convention. He viewed this event 
as awfully alarming. " For God's sake tell me," said 
he, in a letter to Colonel Humphreys, "what is the 
cause of all these commotions ? Do they proceed from 
licentiousness, British influence disseminated by the 
Tories, or real grievances which admit of redress ? If 
the latter, why was redress delayed until the public 
mind had become so much agitated ? If the former, 
why are not the powers of government tried at 
once ? It is as well to be without as not to exercise 
them." 

To General Knox and other friends, similar appre- 
hensions were expressed. " I feel infinitely more 
than I can express to you, for the disorders which 



324 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1787. 

have arisen in these States. Good God ! who besides 
a Tory could have foreseen, or a Briton have predicted 
them ? I do assure you that even at this moment, 
when I reflect upon the present aspect of our affairs, 
it seems to me like the visions of a dream. My mind 
can scarcely realize it as a thing in actual existence : 
— So strange, so wonderful, does it appear to me. In 
this, as in most other matters, we are too slow. When 
this spirit first dawned, it might probably have been 
easily checked ; but it is scarcely within the reach of 
human ken, at this moment, to say when, where, or 
how it will terminate. There are combustibles in 
every State, to which a spark might set fire. In be- 
wailing, which I have often done with the keenest 
sorrow, the death of our much lamented friend, Gen- 
eral Greene, I have accompanied my regrets of late 
with a query whether he would not have preferred 
such an exit to the scenes which it is more than 
probable many of his compatriots may live to be- 
moan. 

" You talk, my good sir, of employing influence to 
appease the present tumults in Massachusetts. I 
know not where that influence is to be found ; nor if 
attainable, that it would be a proper remedy for these 
disorders. Influence is not government. Let us have 
a government by which our lives, liberties, and prop- 
erties will be secured ; or let us know the worst at 
once. Under these impressions my humble opinion 
is that there is a call for decision. Know then pre- 
cisely what the insurgents aim at. If they have real 
grievances, redress them if possible ; or acknowledge 
the justice of them, and your inability to do it in the 
present moment. If they have not, employ the force 
of the government against them at once. If this is 



1787.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 325 

inadequate, all will be convinced that the superstruc- 
ture is bad, or wants support. To be more exposed 
in the eyes of the world, and more contemptible than 
we already are, is hardly possible. To delay one or 
the other of these expedients is to exasperate on the 
one hand, or to give confidence on the other, and will 
add to their numbers; for, like snow-balls, such 
bodies increase by every movement, unless there is 
something in the way to obstruct and crumble them, 
before their weight is too great and irresistible. 

" These are my sentiments. Precedents are dan- 
gerous things. Let the reins of government then be 
braced, and held with a steady hand ; and every vio- 
lation of the constitution be apprehended. If defec- 
tive, let it be amended, but not suffered to be trampled 
upon while it has an existence." 

A friend having intimated by letter his apprehen- 
sion, that civil discord was near, in which event he 
would be obliged to act a public part, or to leave the 
continent. "It is," said the General in reply, "with 
the deepest and most heartfelt concern I perceive, 
by some late paragraphs extracted from the Boston 
papers, that the insurgents of Massachusetts, far from 
being satisfied with the redress offered by their gen- 
eral court, are still acting in open violation of law and 
government, and have obliged the chief magistrate, 
in a decided tone, to call upon the militia of the State 
to support the constitution. 

" What, gracious God, is man ! that there should 
be such inconsistency and perfidiousness in his con- 
duct. It is but the other day that we were shedding 
our blood to obtain the constitutions under which we 
live ; constitutions of our own choice and making ; 
and now we are unsheathing the sword to overturn 



326 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON 



[1787. 



them. The thing is so unaccountable that I hardly 
know how to realize it ; or to persuade myself that I 
am not under the illusion of a dream. My mind, pre- 
cious to the receipt of your letter of the first ultimo, 
had often been agitated by a thought similar to the 
one you expressed respecting a friend of yours; but 
heaven forbid that a crisis should come when he shall 
be driven to the necessity of making a choice of either 
of the alternatives there mentioned." 

Having learned that the States had generally elected 
their representatives to the convention, and Congress 
having given its sanction to it, he on the 28th of 
March communicated to the Governor of Virginia his 
consent to act as one of the delegates of his State on 
this important occasion. 

On the second Monday in May, 1787, the delegates 
of twelve States met in convention at Philadelphia, 
and unanimously elected General George Washing- 
ton their President. The present constitution of 
Government of the United States was the result of 
the deliberations and concessions of this venerable 
body. 

Although the friends of General Washington had 
fully acquiesced in the propriety of his retiring from 
public life at the close of the revolutionary war, yet 
from the moment of the adoption of the Federal Con- 
stitution, all eyes were directed to him as the first 
President of the United States. His correspondents 
early endeavored to prepare his mind to gratify the 
expectations of his country. Mr. Johnson, a distin- 
guished patriot of Maryland, wrote him : " We cannot 
do without you, and I and thousands more can explain 
to anybody but yourself why we cannot do without 

you." 



17S8.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 

The struggle between inclination and duty was 
long and severe. His feelings on this occasion fully 
appeared in the letters which he wrote to his friends 
on the subject. Colonel Lee, then a member of 
Congress, communicating to General Washington 
the measures which that body were adopting to in- 
troduce the new government, thus alludes to the 
presidency : — 

"The solemnity of the moment, and its application 
to yourself, have fixed my mind in contemplations of 
a public and a personal nature, and I feel an involun- 
tary impulse which I cannot resist, to communicate, 
without reserve to you, some of the reflections which 
the hour has produced. Solicitous for our common 
happiness as a people, and convinced, as I continue to 
be, that our peace and prosperity depend on the proper 
improvement of the present period, my anxiety is ex- 
treme that the new government may have an auspi- 
cious beginning. To effect this, and to perpetuate a 
nation formed under your auspices, it is certain you 
will again be called forth. The same principles of de- 
votion to the good of mankind, which have invariably 
governed your conduct, will no doubt continue to rule 
your mind, however opposite their consequences may 
be to your repose and happiness. It may be wrong, 
but I cannot suppress in my wishes for national felicity 
a due regard for your personal fame and content. 

" If the same success shoudl attend your efforts on 
this important occasion which has distinguished you 
hitherto, then, to be sure, you will have spent a life 
which Providence rarely, if ever, before gave to the 
lot of man. It is my anxious hope, it is my belief that 
this will be the case ; but all things are uncertain, and 
perhaps nothing more so than political events. 



328 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [178a 

" Without you, the government can have but little 
chance of success ; and the people, of that happiness 
which its prosperity must yield. " 

To these communications, the General thus replied : 
" Your observations on the solemnity of the crisis, 
and its application to myself, bring before me subjects 
of the most momentous and interesting nature. In 
our endeavors to establish a new general government, 
the contest, nationally considered, seems not to have 
been so much for glory, as existence. It was for a 
long time doubtful whether we were to survive as an 
independent republic, or decline from our federal dig- 
nity into insignificant and wretched fragments of em- 
pire. The adoption of the constitution so extensively 
and with so liberal an acquiescence on the part of the 
minorities in general, promised the former ; but lately, 
the circular letter of New York has manifested in my 
apprehension an unfavorable, if not an insidious ten- 
dency to a contrary policy. I still hope for the best ; 
but before you mentioned it, I could not help fearing 
it would serve as a standard to which the disaffected 
could resort. It is now evidently the part of all honest 
men, who are friends to the new constitution, to en- 
deavor to give it a chance to disclose its merits and 
defects by carrying it fairly into effect, in the first 
instance. 

" The principal topic of your letter is, to me, a 
point of great delicacy indeed, insomuch that I can 
scarcely, without some impropriety, touch upon it. In 
the first place, the event to which you allude may 
never happen, among other reasons because, if the 
partiality of my fellow-citizens conceive it to be a 
mean by which the sinews of the new government 
would be strengthened, it will of consequence be ob- 



I 7 88.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 329 

noxious to those who are in opposition to it ; many of 
whom, unquestionably, will be placed among the elec- 
tors. This consideration alone would supersede the 
expediency of announcing any definitive and irrevoca- 
ble resolution. You are among the small number of 
those who know my invincible attachment to domes- 
tic life, and that my sincerest wish is to continue in 
the enjoyment of it solely, until my final hour. But 
the world would be neither so well instructed, nor so 
candidly disposed, as to believe me to be uninfluenced 
by sinister motives in case any circumstance should 
render a deviation from the line of conduct I had pre- 
scribed for myself indispensable. Should the contin- 
gency you suggest take place, and (for argument's 
sake alone let me say) should my unfeigned reluctance 
to accept the office be overcome by a deference for 
the reasons and opinions of my friends ; might I not, 
after the declarations I have made (and heaven knows 
they were made in the sincerity of my heart), in the 
judgment of the impartial world, and of posterity, be 
chargeable with levity and inconsistency, if not with 
rashness and ambition ? Nay, farther, would there 
not even be some apparent foundation for the two 
former charges ? Now, justice to myself, and tranquil- 
lity of conscience require that I should act a part, if 
not above imputation, at least capable of vindication. 
Nor will you conceive me to be too solicitous for 
reputation. Though I prize as I ought the good 
opinion of my fellow-citizens, yet if I know myself, I 
would not seek popularity at the expense of one social 
duty, or moral virtue. 

" While doing what my conscience informed me was 
right, as it respected my God, my country, and my- 
self, I could despise all the party clamor and unjust 



330 LIFE OF WASHINGTON [1SS8. 

censure which must be expected from some, whose 
personal enmity might be occasioned by their hostility 
to the government. I am conscious that I fear alone 
to give any real occasion for obloquy, and that I do 
not dread to meet with unmerited reproach. And 
certain I am, whensoever I shall be convinced the 
good of my country requires my reputation to be put 
in risk, regard for my own fame will not come in com- 
petition with an object of so much magnitude. 

" If I declined the task, it would be upon quite 
another principle. Notwithstanding my advanced 
season of life, my increasing fondness for agricultural 
amusements, and my growing love for retirement, aug- 
ment and confirm my decided predeliction for the char- 
acter of a private citizen, yet it will be no one of 
these motives, nor the hazard to which my former 
reputation might be exposed, or the terror of encoun- 
tering new fatigues and troubles, that would deter me 
from an acceptance ; but a belief that some other per- 
son, who had less pretence and less inclination to be 
excused, could execute all the duties full as satisfac- 
torily as myself. To say more would be indiscreet ; as 
the disclosure of a refusal beforehand might incur the 
application of the fable, in which the fox is repre- 
sented as undervaluing the grapes he could not reach. 
You will perceive, my dear sir, by what is here ob- 
served (and which you will be pleased to consider in 
the light of a confidential communication) that my 
inclinations will dispose and decide me to remain as I 
am ; unless a clear and insurmountable conviction 
should be impressed on my mind, that some very dis- 
agreeable consequences must in all human probability 
result from the indulgence of my wishes." 

To similar suggestions from Colonel Hamilton, 



i 7 SS.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 33 x 

General Washington replied : " On the delicate sub- 
ject with which you conclude your letter I can say 
nothing; because the event alluded to may never hap- 
pen, and because in case it should occur, it would 
be a point of prudence to defer forming-one's ultimate 
and irrevocable decision, so long as new data might be 
afforded for one to act with the greater wisdom and 
propriety. I would not wish to conceal my prevailing 
sentiment from you. For you know me well enough, 
my good sir, to be persuaded that I am not guilty of 
affectation, when I tell you it is my great and sole 
desire to live and die in peace and retirement on my 
own farm. Were it even indispensable, a different 
line of conduct should be adopted, while you and some 
others who are acquainted with my heart would acquit 
the world, and posterity might .probably accuse me of 
inconsistency 'and ambition. Still I hope I shall always 
possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain (what 
I consider the most enviable of all titles) the charac- 
ter of a?i honest man. 

" Although I could not help observing from several 
publications and letters that my name had been some- 
times spoken of, and that it was possible that contin- 
gency which is the subject of your letter might happen, 
yet I thought it best to maintain a guarded silence, 
and to lack the counsel of my best friends (which 
I certainly hold in the highest estimation) rather 
than to hazard an imputation unfriendly to the delicacy 
of my feelings. For, situated as I am, I could hardly 
bring the question into the slightest discussion, or ask 
an opinion even in the most confidential manner, with- 
out betraying, in my judgment, some impropriety of 
conduct, or without feeling an apprehension that a 
premature display of anxiety might be construed into 



332 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1788- 

a vain-glorious desire of pushing myself into notice as 
a candidate. Now, if I am not grossly deceived in 
myself, I should unfeignedly rejoice, in case the 
electors, by giving their votes in favor of some other 
person, would~save me from the dreadful dilemma of 
being forced to accept or refuse. If that may not be, 
I am in the next place earnestly desirous of searching 
out the truth, and of knowing whether there does not 
exist a probability that the government would be just 
as happily and effectually carried into execution with- 
out my aid, as with it. I am truly solicitous to obtain 
all the previous information which the circumstances 
will afford, and to determine (when the determination 
can with propriety be no longer postponed) according 
to the principles of right reason, and the dictates of a 
clear conscience ; without too great a reference to the 
unforeseen consequences which may affect my person 
or reputation. Until that period, I may fairly hold 
myself open to conviction, though I allow your senti- 
ments to have weight in them ; and I shall not pass 
by your arguments without giving them as dispas- 
sionate a consideration as I can possibly bestow upon 
them. 

" In taking a survey of the subject, in whatever 
point of light I have been able to place it, I will not 
suppress the acknowledgment, my dear sir, that I 
have always felt a kind of gloom upon my mind, as 
often as I have been taught to expect I might, and 
perhaps must ere long be called to make a decision. 
You will, I am well assured, believe the assertion 
(though I have little expectation it would gain credit 
from those who are less acquainted with me) that if I 
should receive the appointment, and should be pre- 
vailed upon to accept it, the acceptance would be 



17SS.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 333 

attended with more diffidence and reluctance, than 
ever I experienced before in my life. It would be, 
however, with a fixed and sole determination of lend- 
ing whatever assistance might be in my power to pro- 
mote the public weal, in hopes that at a convenient 
and early period my services might be dispensed with ; 
and that I might be permitted once more to retire — 
to pass an unclouded evening after the stormy day of 
life, in the bosom of domestic tranquillity.'' 

We have already made copious extracts from the 
letters of the General on the subject of the Presidency; 
but as they clearly describe his feelings and views on 
the near prospect of being again summoned by his 
country into public life, they must be interesting to all. 
We will close them with the following communications 
made to General Lincoln, who had also communicated 
to him the expectation of his friends : " I would 
willingly pass over in silence that part of your letter, 
in which you mention the persons who are candidates 
for the two first offices in the Executive, if I did not 
fear the omission might seem to betray a want of con- 
fidence. Motives of delicacy have prevented me 
hitherto from conversing or writing on this subject, 
whenever I could avoid it with decency. I may, how- 
ever, with great sincerity, and I believe without 
offending against modesty or propriety, say to you, 
that I most heartily wish the choice to which you 
allude might not fall upon me ; and that if it should, 
I must reserve to myself the right of making up my 
final decision, at the last moment, when it can be 
brought into one view, and when the expediency or 
inexpediency of a refusal can be more judiciously de- 
termined than at present. But be assured, my dear 
sir, if from any inducement I shall be persuaded 



334 LIFE 0F WASHINGTON. [1788 

ultimately to accept, it will not be (so far as I know 
my own heart) from any of a private or personal nature. 
Every personal consideration conspires to rivet me (if 
I may use the expression) to retirement. At my 
time of life, and under my circumstances, nothing in 
this world can ever draw me from it, unless it be a 
conviction that the partiality of my countrymen had 
made my services absolutely necessary, joined to a 
fear that my refusal might induce a belief that I pre- 
ferred the conservation of my own reputation and 
private ease, to the good of my country. After all, if 
I should conceive myself in a manner constrained to 
accept, I call Heaven to witness, that this very act 
would be the greatest sacrifice of my personal feelings 
and wishes that ever I have been called upon to make. 
It would be to forego repose and domestic enjoyment 
for trouble, perhaps public obloquy ; for I should con- 
sider myself as entering upon an unexplored field, en- 
veloped on every side with clouds and darkness. 

" From this embarrassing situation I had naturally 
supposed that my declarations at the close of the war 
would have saved me ; and that my sincere intentions, 
then publicly made known, would have effectually pre- 
cluded me forever afterwards from being looked upon 
as a candidate for any office. This hope, as a last 
anchor of worldly happiness in old age, I had still 
carefully preserved ; until the public papers, and pri- 
vate letters from my correspondents in almost every 
quarter, taught me to apprehend that I might soon be 
obliged to answer the question, whether I would go 
again into public life or not." 

In event it appeared, that amidst the discordance 
of opinion, respecting the merits of the Federal Con- 
stitution, there was but one sentiment through the 



1789] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 335 

United States, respecting the man who should admin- 
ister the government. On counting the votes of the 
electors of President and Vice-President, it was found 
that General George Was hington had their unani- 
mous suffrage, and was chosen President of the 
United States for four years from the 4th March, 
1789. 

On the 14th of April, official information reached 
him of his election. Having already made up his 
mind to obey the summons of a whole country, on the 
second day after this notification, he quitted the quiet 
walks of Mount Vernon for the arduous duties of the 
supreme magistracy of his nation. Although grateful 
for this renewed declaration of the favorable opinion 
of the community, yet his determination to accept the 
office was accompanied with diffidence and apprehen- 
sion. " I wish," he observed, " that there may not be 
reason for regretting the choice, for indeed all I can 
promise is, to accomplish that which can be done by 
an honest zeal." The feelings with which he entered 
upon public life, he left upon his private journal. 

" About ten o'clock, I bade adieu to Mount Vernon, 
to private life, and to domestic felicity ; and with a 
mind oppressed with more anxious and painful sensa- 
tions than I have words to express, set out for New 
York, with the best dispositions to render service to 
my country in obedience to its call, but with less hope 
of answering its expectations." 

He was met on the road by the gentlemen of Alex- 
andria, and conducted to a public dinner. From the 
numerous addresses presented to the General on this 
occasion, we select that of the citizens of Alexandria, 
because it is a testimonial of the affection and venera- 
tion in which his neighbors and friends held his pri- 



I 



336 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON . 



[17S9 



vate as well as public character, and because, in itself, 
it has peculiar interest. The following is the address : 

" Again your country commands your care. Obe- 
dient to its wishes, unmindful of your ease, we see you 
again relinquishing the bliss of retirement, and this 
too at a period of life when nature itself seems to 
authorize a preference of repose ! 

" Not to extol your glory as a soldier ; not to pour 
forth our gratitude for past services ; not to acknowl- 
edge the justice of the unexampled honor which has 
been conferred upon you by the spontaneous and 
unanimous suffrages of three millions of freemen in 
your election to the supreme magistracy ; nor to ad- 
mire the patriotism which directs your conduct, do 
your neighbors and friends now address you. Themes 
less splendid, but more endearing, impress our minds. 
The first and best of citizens must leave us. Our 
aged must lose their ornament ; our youth their model ; 
our agriculture its improver ; our commerce its friend ; 
our infant academy its protector ; our poor their bene- 
factor, and the interior navigation of the Potomac (an 
event replete with the most extensive utility already, 
by your unremitted exertions, brought into partial 
use) its institutor and promoter. 

" Farewell ! — go ! and make a grateful people happy 
a people who will be doubly grateful when they con- 
template this recent sacrifice for their interest. 

" To that Being, who maketh and unmake th at his 
will, we commend you ; and after the accomplishment 
of the arduous business to which you are called, may 
he restore to us again the best of men, and the most 
beloved fellow-citizen !" 

To which General Washington replied as fol- 
lows : 



i 7 8 9 .] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



337 



" Gentlemen, 

" Although I ought not to conceal, yet I cannot de- 
scribe the painful emotions which I felt in being 
called upon to determine whether I would accept or 
refuse the Presidency of the United States. The 
unanimity in the choice, the opinion of my friends 
communicated from different parts of Europe as well 
as from America, the apparent wish of those who were 
not entirely satisfied with . the Constitution in its 
present form, and an ardent desire on my own part 
to be instrumental in connecting the good-will of my 
countrymen towards each other, have induced an ac- 
ceptance. Those who know me best (and you, my 
fellow-citizens, are, from your situation, in that num- 
ber), know better than any others my love of retire- 
ment is so great that no earthly consideration, short 
of a conviction of duty, could have prevailed upon me 
to depart from my resolution never more to take any 
share in transactions of a public nature- For at my 
age, and in my circumstances, what prospects or ad* 
vantages could I propose to myself from embarking 
again on the tempestuous and uncertain ocean of pub- 
lic life ? I do not feel myself under the necessity of 
making public declarations, in order to convince you, 
gentlemen, of my attachment to yourselves, and re- 
gard for your interests. The whole tenor of my life 
has been open to your inspection ; and my past ac- 
tions, rather than my present declarations, must be 
the pledge of my future conduct. 

"In the mean time, I thank you most sincerely for 
the expressions of kindness contained in your valedic- 
tory address. It is true, just after having bade adieu 
to my domestic connections, this tender proof of your 
friendships is but too well calculated still farther to 



33o LIFE OF WASHINGTON. I17S9. 

awaken my sensibility, and increase my regret at 
parting from the enjoyments of my private life. 

"All that now remains for me is to commit myself 
and you to the protection of that beneficent Being, 
who on a former occasion, hath happily brought us 
together after a long and distressing separation. Per- 
haps the same gracious Providence will again indulge 
me. Unutterable sensations must then be left to 
more expressive silence — while from an aching heart 
1 bid you all, my affectionate friends and kind neigh- 
bors, farewell! " 

It was the wish of General Washington to avoid 
parade on his journey to the seat of government, but 
he found it impossible. Numerous bodies of respect- 
able citizens and detachments from the militia es- 
corted him the whole distance, and at every place 
through which he passed he received the most flat- 
tering evidence of the high estimation in which his 
countrymen held his talents and his virtues, 

Gray's bridge, over the Schuylkill, was, with much 
taste, embellished on the occasion. At each end 
arches were erected composed of laurel, in imitation 
of a Roman triumphal arch ; and on each side was a 
laurel shrubbery. As the General passed, a youth, 
by the aid of machinery (unperceived by him), let 
down upon his head a civic crown. Through avenues 
and streets thronged with people he passed from the 
Schuylkill into Philadelphia, and at night the city 
was illuminated. 

At Trenton the ladies presented him with a tribute 
of gratitude for the protection which, twelve years be- 
fore, he gave them, worthy of the taste and refinement 
of the sex. On the bridge over the creek which runs 
through this place, a triumphal arch was erected on 



1789.1 X LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 339 

thirteen pillars ; these were entwined with laurel, and 
decorated with flowers. On the front of the arch 
was the following inscription, in large gilt letters : 

THE DEFENDER OF THE MOTHERS 



WILL BE THE 



PROTECTOR OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

On the centre of the arch, above the inscription, 
was a dome of flowers and evergreens encircling the 
dates of two events particularly interesting to the in- 
habitants of New Jersey, viz. : the successful assault 
on the Hessian post m Trenton, and the gallant 
stand made by General Washington at the same 
creek on the evening preceding the battle of Prince- 
ton. A numerous party of matrons, holding their 
daughters in their hands, who were dressed in white, 
and held on their arms baskets of flowers, assem- 
bled at this place, and on his approach the daugh- 
ters sung the following ode : — 

Welcome, Mighty Chief, once more 
Welcome to this grateful shore ; 
Now no mercenary foe 
Aims again the fatal blow — 
Aims at THEE the fatal blow. 
Virgins fair and matrons grave, 
Tnose thy conquering arms aid save, 
Build for THEE triumphal bowers ; 
Strew ye fair his way with flowers, 
Strew your HERO'S way with flowers. 

.% 

At the last line the flowers were strewed before 
him. 



3JO LIFE OF WASHINGTON [17S9 

On the eastern shore of New Jersey he was met by 
a committee of Congress, and accompanied over the 
river in an elegant barge, of thirteen oars, and manned 
by thirteen branch pilots. 

"The display of boats," observes the General in 
his diary, "which attended and joined on this oc- 
casion, some with vocal and others with instrumental 
music on board, the decorations of the ships, the roar 
of cannon, and the loud acclamations of the peop'e 
which rent the sky as I passed along the wharves, 
filled my mind with sensations as painful (contem- 
plating the reverse of this scene, which may be the 
case after all my endeavors to do good) as they were 
pleasing/'' 

He landed on the 23d of April at the stairs on Mur- 
ray's wharf, which were highly ornamented for the 
purpose. At this place the Governor of New York 
received him, and with military honors, and amidst 
an immense concourse of people, conducted him to 
his apartments in the city. At the close of the day, 
Foreign Ministers and other characters of distinc- 
tion made him congratulatory visits, and the pub- 
lic exhibition was at night closed by a brilliant il- 
lumination. 



17S9.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 341 



CHAPTER XL 

Inauguration of the President— His Address to Congress — An- 
swers of the two Houses — The Arrangements of his House- 
hold — His Regulations for Visitors — The reasons of their 
adoption — The Relations of the United States with Foreign 
Powers — Congress establishes the Departments of the Gov- 
ernment — The President fills them — He visits New England 
— His Reception — Addresses to him — His Answers — Nego- 
tiations with the Indians — Treaty with the Greeks — War 
with the Wabash and Miamis Tribes — General Harmar's 
Expedition — St. Clair defeated — General Wayne victorious 
and makes a Treaty with them — Second Session of Congress 
— Fiscal Arrangements of the Secretary of the Treasury — 
Indisposition of the President — He visits Mount Vernon — ■ 
Meets Congress at Philadelphia — His Tour to the Southern 
States — Second Congress — The President refuses his signa- 
ture to the Representative Bill — Contemplates retiring to 
Private Life — Consents to be a Candidate for the Second 
Presidency. 

1789. In adjusting the ceremonies of the inaugura- 
tion of the President, Congress determined that the 
oath of office should be administered to him in an 
open gallery adjoining the Hall of the Senate. Ac- 
cordingly on the 30th of April, General Washington 
attended, and, in a view of a vast assemblage of peo- 
ple, was constitutionally qualified for the administra- 
tion of the government. On his being proclaimed 
President of the United States, reiterated acclamations 
testified the interest and the pleasure which the at- 
tending multitude felt in the transaction. 

The President immediately entered the Senate 



342 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 

chamber and made the following speech to the two 
branches of the Legislature : 

" Fellow-citizens of the senate, and 
of the house of representatives, 
" Among the vicissitudes incident to life, no event 
could have filled me with greater anxieties than that 
of which the notification was transmitted by your or- 
der, and received on the 14th day of the present month. 
On the one hand, I was summoned by my country, 
whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and 
love, from are treat which I had chosen with the fond- 
est predilection, and, in my flattering hopes, with an 
immutable decision as the asylum of my declining years 
— a retreat which was rendered every day more neces- 
sary as well as more dear to me, by the addition of habit 
to inclination, and of frequent interruptions in my 
health to the gradual waste committed on it by time. 
On the other hand, the magnitude and difficulty of the 
trust to which the voice of my country called me, be- 
ing sufficient to awaken in the wisest and most expe- 
rienced of her citizens a distrustful scrutiny into his 
qualifications, could not but overwhelm with despon- 
dence one who, inheriting inferior endowments from 
nature, and unpracticed in the duties of civil adminis- 
tration, ought to be peculiarly conscious of his own 
deficiencies. In this conflict of emotions, all I dare 
aver is, that it has been my faithful study to collect 
my duty from a just appreciation of every circum- 
stance by which it might be affected. All I dare hope 
is, that if in accepting this task I have been too much 
swayed by a grateful remembrance of former instances, 
or by an affectionate sensibility to this transcendent 
proof of the confidence of my fellow-citizens, and 



I 7 8 9 .] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 343 

have thence too little consulted my incapacity as well 
as disinclination for the weighty and untried cares 
before me, my error will be palliated by the motives 
which misled me, and its consequences be judged by 
my country with some share of the partiality in which 
they originated. 

u Such being the impressions under which I have, 
in obedience to the public summons, repaired to the 
present station, it would be peculiarly improper to 
omit in this first official act my fervent supplications 
to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, 
who presides in the councils of nations, and whose 
providential aids can supply every human defect, that 
his benediction may consecrate to the liberties and 
happiness of the people of the United States a govern- 
ment instituted by themselves for these essential pur- 
poses, and may enable every instrumept employed in 
its administration to execute with success the func- 
tions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage 
to the great Author of every public and private good, 
I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not 
less than my own ; nor those of my fellow-citizens at 
large, less than either. No people can be bound to 
acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which con- 
ducts the affairs of men more than the people of the 
United States. Every step by which they have ad- 
vanced to the character of an independent nation 
seems to have been distinguished by some token of 
providential agency. And in the important revolu- 
tion just accomplished in the system of their united 
government, the tranquil deliberations and voluntary 
consent of so many distinct communities, from which 
the event has resulted, cannot be compared with the 
means by which most governments ha\e been es- 



344 LIFE 0F WASHINGTON. ■ [1789, 

tablished without some return of pious gratitude, 
along with a humble anticipation of the future bless- 
ings which the past seem to presage. These reflec- 
tions, arising out of the present crisis, have forced 
themselves too strongly on my mind to be suppressed. 
You will join with me, I trust, in thinking that there 
are none under the influence of which the proceedings 
of a new and free government can more auspiciously 
commence. 

By the article establishing the executive depart- 
ment, it is made the duty of the President ' to recom- 
mend to your consideration such measures as he shall 
judge necessary and expedient/ The circumstances 
under which I now meet you will acquit me from en 
tering into that subject, farther than to refer you to 
the great Constitutional Charter under which we are 
assembled ; and which, in defining your powers, desig- 
nates the objects to which your attention is to be 
given. It will be more consistent with those circum- 
stances, and far more congenial with the feelings 
which actuate me, to substitute in place of a recom- 
mendation of particular measures, the tribute that is 
due to the talents, the rectitude, and the patriotism 
which adorn the characters selected to devise and 
adopt them. In these honorable qualifications I be- 
hold the surest pledges that, as on one side, no local 
prejudices or attachments, no separate views nor 
party animosities, will misdirect the comprehensive 
and equal eye which ought to watch over this great 
assemblage of communities and interests ; so, on 
another, that the foundations of our national policy 
will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of 
private morality, and the pre-eminence of a free gov- 
ernment be exemplified by all the attributes which 



1789.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 345 

can win the affections of its citizens, and command 
the respect of the world. 

" I dwell on this prospect with every satisfaction 
which an ardent love for my country can inspire, 
since there is no truth more thoroughly established 
than that there exists in the economy and course of 
nature an indissoluble union between virtue and hap- 
piness — between duty and advantage — between the 
genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous pol- 
icy, and the solid rewards of public prosperity and 
felicity. Since we ought to be no less persuaded that 
the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be ex- 
pected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules 
of order and right, w T hich Heaven itself has ordained ; 
and since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, 
and the destiny of the republican model of govern- 
ment, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as 
finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the 
hands of the American people. 

" Besides the ordinary objects submitted to your 
care, it will remain with your judgment to decide how 
far an exercise of the occasional power delegated by 
the fifth article of the Constitution is rendered expe- 
dient at the present juncture, by the nature of ob- 
jections which have been urged against the system, 
or by the degree of inquietude which has given birth 
to them. Instead of undertaking particular recom- 
mendations on this subject, m which I could be guided 
by no lights derived from official opportunities, I shall 
again give way to my entire confidence in your dis- 
cernment and pursuit of the public good ; for I as- 
sure myself, that whilst you carefully avoid every 
alteration which might endanger the benefits of an 
united and effective government, or which ought to 



346 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [17S9. 

await the future lessons of experience ; a reverence 
for the characteristic rights of freemen, and a regard 
for the public harmony, will sufficiently influence your 
deliberations on the question, how far the former can 
be more impregnably fortified, or the latter be safely 
and advantageously promoted. 

" To the preceding observations I have one to add 
which will be most properly addressed to the House 
of Representatives. It concerns myself, and will 
therefore be as brief as possible. When I was first 
honored with £ call into the service of my country, 
then on the eve of an arduous struggle for its liberties, 
the light in which I contemplated my duty required 
that I should renounce every pecuniary compensation. 
From this resolution I have in no instance departed. 
And being still under the impressions which produced 
it, I must decline, as inapplicable to myself, any share 
in the personal emoluments which may be indispensa- 
bly included in a permanent provision for the execu- 
tive department ; and must accordingly pray that the 
pecuniary estimates for the station in which I am 
placed may, during my continuation in it, be limited 
to such actual expenditures as the public good may be 
thought to require. 

" Having thus imparted to you my sentiments as 
they have been awakened by the occasion which 
brings us together, I shall take my present leave ; but 
not without resorting once more to the benign Parent 
of the human race, in humble supplication, that since 
he has been pleased to favor the American people 
with opportunities for deliberating in perfect tran- 
quillity and dispositions for deciding with unparalleled 
unanimity on a form of government for the security 
of their Union and the advancement of their happiness, 



r/Sg.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 347 

so His divine blessing may be equally conspicuous in 
the enlarged views, the temperate consultations, and 
the wise measures on which the success of this Govern- 
ment must depend." 

The answer of the Senate was highly respectful and 
affectionate. 

" The unanimous suffrage of the elective body in 
your favor is peculiarly expressive of the gratitude, 
confidence and affection of the citizens of America, 
and is the highest testimonial at once of your merit 
and their esteem. We are sensible, Sir, that nothing 
but the voice of your fellow-citizens could have called 
you from a retreat chosen by the fondest predilection, 
endeared by habit, and consecrated to the repose of 
declining years. We rejoice, and with us, all America, 
that in obedience to the call of our common country 
you have returned once more to public life. In you all 
parties confide, in you all interests unite, and we have 
no doubt that your past services, great as they have 
been, will be equalled by your future exertions ; and 
that your prudence and sagacity as a statesman will 
tend to avert the dangers to which we were exposed, 
to give stability to the present Government, and 
dignity and splendor to that country which your skill 
and valor as a soldier so eminently contributed to 
raise to independence and empire. 

" When we contemplate the coincidence of circum- 
stances, and wonderful combination of causes which 
gradually prepared the people of this country for in- 
dependence ; when we contemplate the rise, progress, 
and termination of the late war, which gave them a 
name among the nations of the earth, we are, with you, 
unavoidably led to acknowledge and adore the great 
Arbiter of the universe, by whom empires rise and 



348 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 

fall. A review of the many signal instances of divine 
interposition in favor of this country claims our most 
pious gratitude. And permit us, Sir, to observe, that 
among the great events which have led to the forma- 
tion and establishment of a federal government, we 
esteem your acceptance of the office of President as 
one of the most propitious and important." 

The House, equally affectionate and respectful in 
their answer, say : — 

"The representatives of the people of the United 
States present their congratulations on the event by 
which your fellow-citizens have attested the pre-emi- 
nence of your merit. You have long held the first 
place in their esteem ; you have often received tokens 
of their affection ; you now possess the only proof that 
remained of their gratitude for your services, of their 
reverence for your wisdom, and of their confidence in 
your virtues. You enjoy the highest, because the 
truest honor, of being the First Magistrate, by the 
unanimous choice of the freest people on the face of 
the earth. 

" We well know the anxieties with which you must 
have obeyed the summons, from the repose reserved 
for your declining years, into public scenes, of which 
you had taken your leave forever ; but the obedience 
was due to the occasion. It is already applauded by 
the universal joy which welcomes you to your station, 
and we cannot doubt that it will be rewarded with all 
the satisfaction, with which an ardent love for your 
fellow-citizens must review successful efforts to pro- 
mote their happiness. 

"This anticipation is not justified merely by the 
past experience of your signal services. It is particu- 
larly suggested by the pious impressions under which 



1789] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 349 

you commence your administration, and the enlight- 
ened maxims by which you mean to conduct it. We 
feel with you the strongest obligations to adore the 
invisible hand which has led the American people 
through so many difficulties, to cherish a conscious 
responsibility for the destiny of republican liberty, and 
to seek the only sure means of preserving and recom- 
mending the precious deposit in a system of legisla- 
tion, founded on the principles of an honest policy, 
and directed by the spirit of a diffusive patriotism. 

" The question arising out of the fifth article of the 
Constitution will receive all the attention demanded by 
its importance, and will, we trust, be decided under the 
influence of all the considerations to which you allude. 

" In forming the pecuniary provisions for the exe- 
cutive department, we shall not lose sight of a'wish 
resulting from motives which give it a peculiar claim 
to our regard. Your resolution, in a moment critical 
to the liberties of your country, to renounce all per- 
sonal emolument, was among the many presages of 
your patriotic services which have been amply ful- 
filled ; and your scrupulous adherence now to the law 
then imposed on yourself cannot fail to demonstrate 
the purity, whilst it increases the lustre of a character 
which has so many titles to admiration. 

" Such are the sentiments with which we have 
thought fit to address you. They flow from our own 
hearts, and we verily believe, that among the millions 
we represent, there is not a virtuous citizen whose 
heart will disown them. 

" All that remains is, that we join in your fervent 
supplications for the blessings of Heaven on our 
country ; and that we add our own for the choicest 
of those blessings on the most beloved of her citizens.'' 



35° 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON 



While waiting the movements of the Legislature, 
the President endeavored fully to acquaint himself 
with the state of public affairs, and for this purpose he 
called upon those who had been the heads of depart- 
ments under the confederation to report to him the 
situation of their respective concerns. He also, hav- 
ing consulted with his friends, adopted a system for 
the order of his own household, for the regulation of 
his hours of business, and of intercourse with those 
who, in a formal manner, visited him as the Supreme 
Magistrate of the nation 

He publicly announced that neither visits of busi 
ness nor ceremony would be expected on Sunday, as 
he wished to reserve this day sacredly to himself. 
Other regulations, adopted at this time, were at a sub- 
sequent period complained of as partaking too much 
of monarchical customs. To a friend in Virginia, 
who had made known these complaints, the President 
gave the following reasons for their adoption : — 

" While the eyes of America, perhaps of the world, 
are turned to this Government, and many are watch- 
ing the movements of those who are concerned m its 
administration, I should like to be informed through 
so good a medium of the public opinion of both men 
and measures., and of none more than myself — not 
so much of what may be thought commendable parts, 
if any, of my conduct, as of those which are conceived 
to be of a different complexion The man who means 
to commit no wrong will never be guilty of enormi- 
ties, consequently can never be unwilling to learn 
what are ascribed to him as foibles If they are really 
such, the knowledge of them, in a well disposed mind, 
will go half way towards a reform If they are not 
errors, he can explain and justify the motives of his 



17S9] LIFE OF WASHINGTON 3^ 

actions. At a distance from the theatre of action 
truth is not always related without embellishments, 
and sometimes is entirely perverted, from a miscon- 
ception of the causes which produced the effects that 
are the subject of censure. 

u This leads me to think that a system which I found 
it indispensably necessary to adopt upon my first com- 
ing to this city might have undergone severe strict- 
ures, and have had motives very foreign from those 
that governed me assigned as the causes thereof — 
I mean, first, returning no visits ; second, appointing 
certain days to receive them generally (not to the ex- 
clusion, however, of visits on any other days under 
particular circumstances), and third, at first entertain- 
ing no company, and afterwards (until I was unable 
to entertain any at all) confining it to official charac- 
ters. A few days evinced the necessity of the two 
first in so clear a point of view, that had I not adopted 
it, I should have been unable to have attended to any 
sort of business, unless I had applied the hours allot- 
ted to rest and refreshment to this purpose ; for by the 
time I had done breakfast, and thence until dinner, 
and afterwards until bedtime, I could not get relieved 
from the ceremony of one visit before I had to at- 
tend to another. In a word, I had no leisure to read 
or to answer the despatches that were pouring in 
upon me from all quarters. 

" Before the custom was established, which now ac- 
commodates foreign characters, strangers, and others, 
who from motives of curiosity, respect to the Chief 
Magistrate, or any other cause, are induced to call 
upon me, I was unable to attend to any business what- 
soever. For gentlemen, consulting their own con- 
venience rather than mine, were calling from the time 



3S 2 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 

I rose from breakfast, often before, until I sat down 
to dinner. This, as I resolved not to neglect my pub- 
lic duties, reduced me to the choice of one of these 
alternatives : either to refuse them altogether, or to 
appropriate a time for the reception of them. The 
first would, I well knew, be disgusting to many ; the 
latter, I expected, would undergo animadversions from 
those who would find fault with or without cause. To 
please everybody was impossible ; I therefore adopted 
that line of conduct which combined public advantage 
with private convenience, and which in my judgment 
was unexceptionable in itself. 

" These visits are optional. They are made with- 
out invitation. Between the hours of three and four 
every Tuesday I am prepared to receive them. Gen- 
tlemen, often in great numbers, come and go, chat 
with each other, and act as they please. A porter 
shows them into the room, and they retire from it 
when they choose, and without ceremony. At their 
first entrance, they salute me, and I them, and as 
many as I can talk to, I do. What pomp there is in 
all this I am unable to discover. Perhaps it consists 
in not sitting : to this, two reasons are opposed ; first, 
it is unusual ; secondly (which is a more substantial 
one), because I have no room large enough to contain 
a third of the chairs which would be sufficient to ad- 
mit it. If it is supposed that ostentation, or the 
fashions of courts (which, by the bye, I believe or- 
iginate oftener in convenience, not to say necessity, 
than is generally imagined), gave rise to this custom, 
I will boldly affirm that no supposition was ever more 
erroneous ; for were I to indulge my inclinations, every 
moment that I could withdraw from the fatigues of 
my station should be spent in retirement. That they 



1789.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 353 

are not, proceeds from the sense I entertain of the 
propriety of giving to every one as free access as con- 
sists with that respect which is due to the chair of 
government ; and that respect, I conceive, is neither 
to be acquired or preserved but by maintaining a just 
medium between much state and too great famili- 
arity. 

"Similar to the above, but of a more familiar and 
sociable kind, are the visits of every Friday afternoon 
to Mrs. Washington, where I always am. These pub- 
lic meetings, and a dinner once a week to as many as 
my table will hold, with the references to and from 
the different departments of state, and other com- 
munications with all parts of the Union, is as much, if 
not more, than I am able to undergo ; for I have 
already had, within less than a year, two severe at- 
tacks; — the last worse than the first: — a third, it 
is more than probable, will put me to sleep with my 
fathers — at what distance this may be, I know not." 

At the commencement of the Presidency of Gen- 
eral Washington, a variety of circumstances com- 
bined to create anxiety and apprehension respecting 
the operations of the Government. 

The relation of the country with foreign powers 
was critical and embarrassing. Spain discovered 
jealousies of the American people, and manifested a 
disposition to check their progress to national wealth 
and strength. She had refused negotiation with the 
American Government, and denied to its subjects the 
navigation of the Mississippi south of the boundary of 
the United States. 

Between Great Britain and the United States great 
causes of altercation existed. Just complaints of the 
non-execution of essential articles of the treaty of 

23 



354 LIFE 0F WASHINGTON. [1789. 

peace were mutually made, and an irritable state of 
mind appeared in both nations, which rendered the 
adjustment of the controversy the more difficult. 

- France early discovered a disposition to take ad- 
vantage of the partiality of the American people, to 
gain an influence in the councils, and to acquire the 
control of their destiny. 

The Indians, through the whole extent of the west- 
ern frontier, manifested great inquietude. Their jeal- 
ousies of the United States were supposed to have 
been excited by the intrigues of Spanish and British 
partisans, and most of the tribes assumed a very 
threatening attitude. 

In addition to these foreign difficulties, there were 
considerations of a domestic nature, peculiarly calcu- 
lated to excite apprehension. 

The whole plan of the Federal Government was 
new. In no branch of it was there a precedent ; but 
first principals and general rules were to be established 
in every department. The United States were with- 
out funds or revenue, and were destitute of public 
credit. 

Many distinguished characters, in different parts of 
the Union, were from the first opposed to the Federal 
Constitution. Debates in State conventions on its 
principles had enkindled no inconsiderable degree of 
animosity. It had been ratified in them generally by 
small majorities, and in some instances this majority 
had been obtained by annexing provisional amend- 
ments to the ratification. It was therefore to be ap- 
prehended that many of the members of the Legisla- 
ture were hostile to the Constitution, and would, 
under the idea of amending, sacrifice its spirit, or by 
their opposition to every salutary measure prevent an 



1789.I LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 355 

experiment of a republican form of Government, au- 
spiciously begun, from being fairly completed. 

Happily the American people retained their con- 
fidence in those distinguished statesmen who had 
been their leaders in the controversy with Great 
Britain, which terminated in National Independence ; 
and these statesmen, imitating at this crisis the public 
spirit of the General of the revolutionary war, con- 
sented to forego the pleasures and emoluments of 
private life for the service of their country. Many of 
them were the successful candidates for popular suf- 
frage to compose the Legislature of the nation, and 
the first Congress consisted of men eminent for their 
talents and political information, and venerable for 
their patriotism and virtue. A decided majority of 
these were the friends of the Constitution, and were 
disposed to make every exertion to carry it into exe- 
cution upon a liberal and efficient plan. 

One of the first acts of the Legislature was to es- 
tablish those departments which were necessary to aid 
the Executive in the administration of the government. 

In filling these departments the President was to 
perform an important and delicate duty. Applica- 
tions for office had been numerous, and the following 
extract of a letter written to a friend, who had applied 
even before General Washington accepted the Pres- 
idency, will show the disposition with which he exe- 
cuted this trust : — 

" Should it become absolutely necessary for me to 
occupy the station in which your letter presupposes 
me, I have determined to go into it perfectly free 
from all engagements of every nature whatsoever. A 
conduct in conformity to this resolution would enable 
me, in balancing the various pretensions of different 



356 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789 

candidates for appointments, to act with a sole refer- 
ence to justice and the public good. This is, in sub- 
stance, the answer that I have given to all applications 
(and they are not few) which have already been made. 
Among the places sought after in these applications, 
I must not conceal that the office to which you partic- 
ularly allude is comprehended. This fact I tell you 
merely as a matter of information. My general man- 
ner of thinking, as to the propriety of holding myself 
totally disengaged, will apologize for my not enlarging 
further on the subject. 

" Though I am sensible that the public suffrage 
which places a man in office should prevent him from 
being swayed in the execution of it by his private in- 
clinations, yet he may assuredly, without violating his 
duty, be indulged in the continuance of his former at- 
tachments." 

His consequent nominations fully proved the purity 
of these declarations, and attested that his selection of 
characters for the respective offices to be filled was 
made with great judgment and prudence. Removed 
from the influence of local and family considerations, 
he directed his attention to the public interest. Where 
qualifications were equal, the candidate who could 
claim the merit of public service had the preference 
in his appointment. 

His cabinet was composed of Mr. Jefferson, Secre- 
tary of State, Colonel Hamilton, Secretary of the 
Treasury, General Knox, Secretary of War, and Mr. 
Edmund Randolph, Attorney-General. 

The session of Congress continued to September. 
Perfect harmony subsisted through this period between 
the Executive and the Legislature, and no circum- 
stance threatened to interrupt it. 



17S9.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 357 

At the adjournment of Congress, the President 
made preparations for a tour through New England, 
to view the improvements of the country and to 
judge of the disposition of the people towards the 
newly established government. Accordingly, on the 
15th of October, he began his journey; and, passing 
through Connecticut and Massachusetts, went as far 
as Portsmouth in New Hampshire ; returning by a 
different route, he arrived on the 13th of November at 
New York. 

Many circumstances were combined during this 
visit to excite his sensibility and to render it grateful 
to his best feelings. His journey carried him through 
the most populous and cultivated part of the United 
States, and gave him a favorable opportunity to notice 
the progress of the country in those improvements 
which constitute the strength, the wealth, and orna- 
ment of society. He visited the scene of his first 
campaign, and must have experienced elevated reflec- 
tions in contrasting the present situation of himself 
and his country with his and their condition at the 
commencement of the revolutionary war. Every- 
where he remarked a steady attachment to the Fed- 
eral Government, and received the most grateful 
evidence of unqualified approbation of the measures 
of the Administration. In every place through which 
he passed, business was suspended, and all classes of 
citizens were eagerly employed to obtain a sight of 
the Father of their country, and to join in the com- 
mon expressions of veneration and attachment. Mil- 
itary parades, processions, and triumphal arches, 
awaited him in those populous towns at which he 
stopped, and so fully was the public curiosity en- 
grossed by his journey, that the newspapers of the 



358 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 

day were filled with narratives of its progress and 
termination. 

At Cambridge, the Lieutenant-Governor and Coun 
cil of Massachusetts waited upon him and accom- 
panied him to Boston, escorted by a numerous col- 
lection of citizens, under the direction of the marshal 
of the district and the sheriff of Suffolk. The se- 
lectmen received him at the entrance of the town, and 
from it a procession of the inhabitants was formed 
which extended to the State House ; an interesting 
part of this procession, and which engaged the special 
attention of the President, was the male children of the 
town, under their respective literary instructors. This 
procession opened to the right and left, and he on 
horseback, preceded by companies of artillery and 
infantry, by the Lieutenant-Governor and council, the 
marshal and sheriff, passed to the State House. 
Here a triumphal arch was erected from the State 
House across Cornhill to the opposite houses. On 
the top of the arch was a gallery, in which were placed 
a select choir of singers of both sexes. In the middle 
of the gallery a pyramid was erected. On one side 
of this, over the arch, was the inscription, " TO THE 
MAN WHO UNITES ALL HEARTS," and on 
the opposite side, "TO COLUMBIA'S FAVORITE 
SON." 

At the end of the arch next the State House s on a 
large ground, was this inscription, " BOSTON RE- 
LIEVED MARCH 17, 1776." The President was 
introduced through the State House to a handsome 
gallery at the west end of that building, erected near 
the arch on seven pillars. As soon as he appeared in 
view, loud acclamations broke from the concourse be- 
low. He bowed to them, on which the choir sang an 



1789.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 359 

appropriate ode. He was then conducted to a house 
provided for his use, and elegantly furnished from the 
families of individual gentlemen. 

Addresses were presented to him from civil, literary 
and religious corporations, and from all other societies 
of any distinction. In these, grateful notice was taken 
of his public services, and particularly of the sacrifice 
he made of private happiness in accepting the Pres- 
idency. 

In his answers, the President reciprocated the be- 
nevolent wishes of his countrymen in language cal- 
culated to confirm their confidence and affection. He 
thus replied to a respectful address from tne inhabit- 
ants of Boston : — 

"I rejoice with you, my fellow-citizens, in every cir- 
cumstance that declares your prosperity ; and I do 
so most cordially because you have well deserved to be 
happy. 

" Your love of liberty, your respect for the laws, 
your habits of industry, and your practice of the 
moral and religious obligations, are the strongest 
claims to national and individual happiness, and they 
will, I trust, be firmly and lastingly established." 

In the renewal of direct intercourse between Gen- 
eral Washington and the companions of his toils and 
glory in the tented field, we perceive the most inter- 
esting effusion of the refined feelings of the human 
heart. 

" Amidst the various gratulations," says the Society 
of Cincinnati of Massachusetts, " which your arrival 
in this metropolis has occasioned, permit us, the mem- 
bers of the Society of the Cincinnati in this Common- 
wealth, most respectfully to assure you of the ardor 
of esteem and affection you have so indelibly fixed in 



360 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 

our hearts, as our glorious leader in war, and illus- 
trious example in peace. 

"After the solemn and endearing farewell on the 
banks of the Hudson, which our anxiety presaged as 
final, most peculiarly pleasing is the present unex- 
pected meeting. On this occasion we cannot avoid 
the recollection of the various scenes of toil and danger 
through which you conducted us, and while we con- 
template various trying periods of the war, and the 
triumphs of peace, we rejoice to behold you, induced 
by the unanimous voice of your country, entering 
upon other trials, and other services, alike important, 
and, in some points of view, equally hazardous. For 
the completion of the great purposes which a grateful 
country has assigned you, long, very long may your 
invaluable life be preserved. And as the admiring 
world, while considering you as a soldier, have long 
wanted a comparison, may your virtues and talents as 
a statesman leave them without a parallel. 

" It is not in words to express an attachment found- 
ed like ours. We can only say, that when soldiers, 
our greatest pride was a promptitude of obedience to 
your orders ; as citizens, our supreme ambition is to 
maintain the character of firm suppsorters of that no- 
ble fabric of Federal Government over which you 
preside. 

" As members of the Society of the Cincinnati, it will 
be our endeavor to cherish those sacred principles of 
charity and paternal attachment which our institution 
inculcates. And while our conduct is thus regulated, 
we can never want the patronage of the first of patriots 
and the best of men." 

To which the President thus replied : — 

" In reciprocating with gratitude and sincerity the 



I789-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 361 

multiplied and affecting gratulations of my fellow-cit- 
izens of this Commonwealth, they will all of them 
with justice allow me to say, that none can be dearer 
to me than the affectionate assurances which you have 
expressed. Dear indeed is the occasion which re- 
stores an intercourse with my faithful associates in 
prosperous and adverse fortune ; and enhanced are 
the triumphs of peace participated with those whose 
virtue and valor so largely contributed to procure them. 
To that virtue and valor your country has confessed 
her obligations. Be mine the grateful task to add the 
testimony of a connection which it was my pride to 
own in the field, and is now my happiness to acknowl- 
edge in the enjoyments of peace and freedom. 

" Regulating your conduct by those principles which 
have heretofore governed your actions as men, soldiers 
and citizens, you w T ill repeat the obligations conferred 
on your country, and you will transmit to posterity an 
example that must command their admiration and 
grateful praise. Long may you continue to enjoy the 
endearments of paternal attachment and the heartfelt 
happiness of reflecting that you have faithfully done 
your duty. 

" While I am permitted to possess the consciousness 
of this worch, which has long bound me to you by 
every tie of affection and esteem, I will continue to 
be your sincere and faithful friend." 

The first diplomatic transaction of the President 
was with the Indian tribes. He conceived it to be 
true policy to " cultivate an intimate intercourse with 
the Indians upon principles calculated to advance 
their happiness, and to attach them firmly to the 
United States." 

With these views he early opened negotiations 



362 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1789. 

with them, and the interest of several of the States 
being closely connected with treaties that might be 
made, he asked, during the first session of Congress, 
the advice of the Senate upon questions that were at 
issue. 

The first attempt to establish a peace with the 
Creek Indians failed. M'Gillivray, their chief, was 
the son of a white man, and his resentment had been 
keenly excited against the State of Georgia by the 
confiscation of lands which his father had holden ; and 
more particularly by the claim of that, government to 
a large tract of the Oconee in virtue of an Indian pur- 
chase, the validity of which the Creek nation denied. 
General Lincoln. Mr. Griffin, and Colonel Humphries 
were deputed commissioners to negotiate with the 
Creeks in the summer of 1789 They met M'Gilli- 
vray with other chiefs and about two thousand of the 
tribe at Rock Landing, on the Oconee, on the frontiers 
of Georgia Although first appearances promised 
success to the mission, yefe M'Gillivray suddenly 
broke off the negotiation for the ostensible reason of 
a dispute about boundaries, but really, as was supposed, 
through the influence of the Spanish government. 

The situation of the United States in their relation 
with the Indians became more and more critical and 
embarrassing, and war was threatened with all the 
tribes from Canada to Louisiana. The danger was 
the more formidable from the supposition that the 
jealousies of the Indians were excited by the intrigues 
of British and Spanish agents, and that an Indian w T ar 
would probably lead to hostilities with those powers. 

Ardently desirous to secure the frontiers from the 
horrors of Indian warfare, the President again at- 
tempted to negotiate with the Creeks, without com- 



I790-5-] LIF E OF WASHINGTON. 363 

mitting the dignity of government. He sent Colonel 
Willett, a gallant revolutionary officer, into their coun- 
try, apparently upon private business ; but furnished 
with credentials, to be used if he found M'Gillivray 
disposed for peace. This second mission proved suc- 
cessful. M'Gillivray and a number of Creek chiefs 
were induced to repair to New York, where negotia- 
tions were immediately opened and a treaty soon es- 
tablished ; although the secretary of East Florida 
came to New York with a large sum of money, under 
a*pretence of purchasing flour, but in fact to prevent 
M'Gillivray from treating. 

The attempt to establish peace with the Indians of 
the Wabash and the Miamis did not terminate so suc- 
cessfully. The American settlers on that frontier con- 
tinued to suffer from their hostilities, and all appear- 
ances indicated that they could be brought into a pa- 
cific disposition only by being made themselves to 
feel the miseries of war. 

The President was decidedly of the opinion that, on 
the failure of negotiation, a military force should be 
employed in their country which their united power 
could not successfully resist, and which should be ad- 
equate to the conquest of their towns and the destruc- 
tion of their villages. This, he conceived, policy, econ- 
omy and humanity dictated. But Congress, in their 
military establishment, did not meet his views, and at 
the moment he gave his sanction to the bill, he 
entered in his private journal that he did not con- 
ceive the military establishment was adequate to the 
exigence of the Government and to the protection it 
was intended to afford. 

For the sake of a connected view of Indian affairs, 
we will in this place give a narrative of subsequent 



364 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. U790-5. 

transactions, although we shall be carried out of the 
order of time in which events took place. 

The attempt to negotiate with the Indians north- 
west of the Ohio having proved abortive, the Presi- 
dent conceived himself bound to use the means Con- 
gress had put into his hands to protect the frontiers, 
and accordingly General Harmar was sent in Sep- 
tember, 1 79 1, into the Indian territories with a force 
consisting of about three hundred regular troops, and 
eleven hundred militia of Pennsylvania and Kentucky, 
with orders to bring the Indians, if possible, to action, 
and to destroy their settlements on the waters of the 
Scioto and Wabash. 

The savages avoided an engagement with the main 
body of the American army, but with great spirit at- 
tacked a strong detachment which had pursued them, 
and killed several valuable officers. Harmar destroyed 
their settlements, but afforded no protection to the 
frontiers. Several smaller expeditions, with various 
success, were made into the Indian country, and in 
the autumn of 1791 Major-General St. Clair marched a 
force of near two thousand effective men into their 
territories, and on the 4th of November was attacked 
and totally defeated by them. 

The President, apprehending that the success of 
the Indians, and the booty they had gained, would 
have influence to bring other tribes into the war, 
conceived that the honor of the nation was con- 
cerned to retrieve the American losses, and to afford 
protection to the frontiers. St. Clair resigning his 
commission, General Wayne was appointed his suc- 
cessor. The President lost no time in laying before 
Congress an estimate of such a military force as he 
thought would be adequate to the object; and they at 



I790-5-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 365 

length acceded to his proposal. While these prepa- 
rations were ripening much complaint was made of the 
war, and the President was induced, rather from a 
desire to convince the country that successful warfare 
was the only means of peace, than from any expecta- 
tion of success in the mission, to send Colonel Har- 
den and Major Trueman, two valuable officers and 
worthy men, into the Indian country, to attempt ne- 
gotiation ; but they were both murdered. On the 
20th of August, 1794, General Wayne brought the 
Indians to an engagement, totally defeated them, and 
destroyed their country on the Miamis. 

This action was decisive ; it deterred other tribes 
from entering into the war, and induced the Miamis 
themselves to treat for peace. On the 3d of August 
a treaty was entered into by General Wayne with the 
Indians north-west of the Ohio, which ended all hos- 
tilities, quieted the fears of the frontiers, and gave 
universal satisfaction. 

As early as 1789 the President received authentic 
intelligence that Spanish agents were intriguing with 
the inhabitants of the western country, to seduce 
them from their allegiance to the United States. 
Representations were made them in the name of the 
government of Spain, that while they were connected 
with the Atlantic States the navigation of the Missis- 
sippi would be denied them ; but if they would as- 
sume an independent government the river should 
be opened, and their independence supported. 

In 1794, Spain, suffering herself the evils of war, 
was inclined to treat with the United States. She 
intimated by her ministers that the etiquette of her 
court forbid her to treat with Mr. Short, the Amer- 
ican resident at Madrid, yet a higher diplomatic char- 



366 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1790-5. 

acter would be accredited, and negotiations immedi- 
ately opened w th him. The President placed full 
confidence in Mr. Short, but he thought it policy to 
meet the friendly propositions of Spain, and in No- 
vember nominated Mr. Pinckney to be the American 
minister at that court. In the course of the next 
summer, Mr. Pinckney repaired to Madrid, and on 
the 20th of October, 1795, a treaty was signed be- 
tween him and the Spanish commissioners, which 
happily terminated the controversy respecting boun- 
dary lines and the navigation of the Mississippi to 
the satisfaction of the nation. 

On the 8th of January, 1790, the President met 
Congress at their second session. 

In his speech he congratulated them on the suc- 
cess of their measures, and recommended a variety of 
national objects to their serious attention. Among 
these, the following are the principal : Provision for 
national defence ; the means of holding intercourse 
with foreign nations ; establishing a rule of natural- 
ization ; uniformity in the currency, weights, and 
measures of the United States ; and the promotion of 
science and literature. 

" Knowledge," he observed, " is in every country 
the surest basis of public happiness. In one in which 
the measures of government receive their impressions 
so immediately from the sense of the community as 
in ours, it is proportionately essential. ,, And he con- 
cluded with the following assurances : — 

" I shall derive great satisfaction in co-operating 
with you in the pleasing though arduous task of en- 
suring to our fellow-citizens the blessings which they 
have a right to expect from a free, efficient, and equal 
government/' 



1790-5] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 367 

The answers of the Senate and the House of Rep- 
resentatives were cordial and respectful, and promised 
a continuance of harmony between the Executive and 
Legislature. 

In this session of Congress, the Secretary of the 
Treasury first reported those fiscal arrangements in 
support of public credit which, in their progress to 
establishment, were the occasion of warm and ani- 
mated debates in the Legislature, fully displayed the 
discordance of political opinion among the members, 
and excited that party spirit which has since con- 
vulsed the United States. 

The President readily gave his sanction to these 
fiscal establishments of the Legislature, yet by this 
act he seemed not to lose the good opinion of the 
opposition ; the blame and odium fell upon the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury, and upon the northern federal 
members of Congress. 

The incessant application to business had a visible 
effect upon the constitution of the President, and at 
this period he was for a second time attacked with a 
violent disease, which put his life in imminent danger. 
At the close of the session, therefore, he determined 
to give himself a short relaxation in a visit to Mount 
Vernon. He first made a tour to Rhode Island, 
which not then being in the Union, had not been in- 
cluded in his visit to New England ; and at Newport 
and Providence he received every attention which af- 
fection and respect could dictate. 

This retirement was of essential service to his 
health, and at the close of autumn he returned to 
Philadelphia to meet the Legislature ; to which place 
Congress had adjourned at the close of the year 1790. 
At this time the President noticed the rising disturb- 



368 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1790-5. 

ances in Europe, and advised to those precautionary 
measures which had a tendency to secure to the 
United States the benefit of their commerce. Men- 
tioning to the House the sufficiency of the established 
revenue to the purposes to which it was appropriated, 
he expressed his hope " that it would be a favorite 
policy with them not merely to secure the interest of 
the debt funded, but as far, and as fast, as the grow 
ing resources of the country will permit, to exonerate 
it of the principal itself." The address was closed in 
the following impressive manner : — 

" In pursuing the various and weighty business of 
the present session, I indulge the fullest persuasion 
that your consultations will be marked with wisdom, 
and animated by the love of country. In whatever 
belongs to my duty, you shall have all the co-opera- 
tion which an undiminished zeal for its welfare can 
inspire. It will be happy for us both, and our best 
reward, if by a successful administration of our re- 
spective trusts we can make the established govern- 
ment more and more instrumental in promoting the 
good of our fellow-citizens, and more and more the 
object of their attachment and confidence/' 

The respect and confidence of the Legislature in 
the Executive appeared on this occasion without dimi- 
nution ; although one of the measures of the President 
was for the first time condemned. A member from 
Georgia pronounced the treaty with the Creek Indians 
to be a violation of the rights of that State. 

In this session of Congress the Bank of the United 
States was established. Its constitutionality had been 
deeply argued in the Legislative body, and came be- 
fore the Executive as a question involving the highest 
national interest. It was reviewed in the Cabinet 



I793-5-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 369 

with the deliberation it merited. The Council, on 
this occasion, as on most others, were divided. 
Messrs. Jefferson and Randolph expressed as their 
decided opinion that the law was unconstitutional 
Messrs. Hamilton and Knox were fully convinced of 
its constitutionality. The President called upon each 
member of his Council for the reasons of his opinion 
in writing. These he maturely weighed, and being 
convinced himself that the law was constitutional, put 
his signature to it. 

With the 3d of March, 1791, terminated the period 
of the first Congress. 

President Washington having made the necessary 
arrangements, and appointed an Executive Council to 
attend to the business of the Government, soon after 
the close of the session commenced a journey to the 
Southern States. On his way he stopped at the Poto- 
mac, and, pursuant to the powers with which Con- 
gress had vested him, marked out the site of the 
federal city, designed as the permanent seat of gov- 
ernment. In the course of this tour he received the 
same general expressions of love and veneration for 
his character, and of confidence in his government, 
which he had experienced in his northern circuit. 
And he derived great satisfaction in contemplating 
the improvements of the country, and remarking the 
evidences of attachment to the Federal Government. 
The feelings excited by this journey are fully expressed 
in the following letter, written after his return to 
Philadelphia : — 

" In my late tour through the Southern States, I 
experienced great satisfaction in seeing the good 
effects of the general government in that part of the 
Union. The people at large have felt the security 

24 



370 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1790-5. 

which it gives, and the equal justice which it adminis- 
ters to them. The farmer, the merchant, and the 
mechanic, have seen their several interests attended 
to, and from thence they unite in placing a confidence 
in their representatives, as well as in those in whose 
hands the execution of the laws is placed. Industry 
has there taken place of idleness, and economy of dis- 
sipation. Two or three years of good crops, and a 
ready market for the produce of their lands, have put 
every one in good humor ; and, in some instances, 
they even impute to the Government what is due only 
to the goodness of Providence. 

"The establishment of public credit is an immense 
point gained in our national concerns. This I believe 
exceeds the expectation of the most sanguine among 
us ; and a late instance, unparalleled in this country all 
has been given of the confidence reposed in our meas- 
ures, by the rapidity with which the subscriptions to 
the Bank of the United States were filled. In two 
hours after the books were opened by the commission- 
ers, the whole number of shares were taken up, and 
four thousand more applied for than were allowed by 
the institution. This circumstance was not only 
pleasing as it related to the confidence in Govern- 
ment, but also as it exhibited an unexpected proof of 
the resources of our citizens. " 

The hearts of all Americans were with General 
Washington at this period ; but notwithstanding 
these public appearances, there was in fact much 
hostility to the government at the southward. 

On the 24th of October, 1 791, the President met 
the second Congress in the established form. 

During this session a great national question came 
before the Legislature, which the President was com 
pelled ultimately to decide. 



1790-5-] LIFE 0F WASHINGTON. ^1 

The Constitution provides that there shall not be 
more than one Representative to thirty thousand in- 
habitants. An enumeration having been made, the 
House of representatives passed a bill providing for 
each State to send one representative for every thirty 
thousand of its population. This ratio in several in- 
stances leaving a large fraction, operated unequally on 
the small States. The Senate, to cure the evil, as- 
sumed a new principle of apportionment. They found 
ihe whole population of the United States, and, divid- 
ing this aggregate number by thirty thousand, took 
the quotient as the number of Representatives, and 
then apportioned this number upon the several States 
according to their population ; to which the House 
concurred. When the President had the bill before 
him for his signature, he took the opinion of his 
Cabinet upon the constitutionality of the arrangement 
Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Randolph thought the bill un- 
constitutional. General Knox was undecisive, and 
Colonel Hamilton conceived that the expression of 
the Constitution might be applied to the United 
States, or to the several States, and thought it best to 
coincide with the construction of the Legislature. 
After due deliberation, the President thought the bill 
unconstitutional, and not hesitating to do his duty, he 
returned it with the following objections :— 

" Gentlemen of the 

House of Representatives, 
" I have maturely considered the act, passed by the 
two Houses, entitled 4 an act for the apportionment 
of representatives among the several States accord- 
ing to the first enumeration/ and I return it to your 
House, wherein it originated, with the following ob- 
jections :— 



372 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1790-5 

" First, The Constitution has prescribed that rep- 
resentatives shall be apportioned among the several 
States according to their respective numbers, and 
there is no proportion or division which, applied to the 
respective numbers of the States, will yield the num- 
ber and allotment of representatives proposed by the 
bill. 

" Secondly, The Constitution has also provided that 
the number of representatives shall not exceed one 
for thirty thousand, which restriction is by fair and 
obvious construction to be applied to the separate and 
respective numbers of the States, and the b^l has 
allotted to eight of the States more than one for thirty 
thousand." 

The adopted mode was, in consequence of the dis- 
sent of the Executive, laid aside, and, in a new bill, a 
representative for every thirty-three thousand to each 
State was substituted. 

The first Presidency of General Washington closed 
without other occurrences of great magnitude. The 
last session of the second Congress was violent and 
impassioned, and the members separated in a state of 
great irritation, but neither they nor their constituents 
had as yet impeached the motives of the President ; 
yet it was then evident that, if he remained at the 
head of government, his reputation must soon pass 
the ordeal of party conflict. He had determined to 
decline being a candidate for the Presidency at a 
second election, and to this purpose had written a 
valedictory address to the American people ; but the 
critical state of the country, and the urgent entreaties 
of his friends, induced him to relinquish the determin- 
ation. 



1793-7-] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



373 



CHAPTER XII. 

General Washington re-elected President — State of Parties — 
Division in the Cabinet — The President endeavors to pro- 
mote union — Influence of the French Revolution — Measures 
to secure the Neutrality of the United States in the War 
between France and England — Mr, Genet's illegal practices 
— He insults the Government — The Executive restricts him 
— He appeals to the People— They support the Administration 
— The President determines to arrest Genet — He is recalled 
— Negotiation with Britain — Insurrection in Pennsylvania - 
Democratic Societies — British Treaty — Communication be- 
tween the French Executive and the Legislature of the 
United States — The President refuses to the House of 
Representatives the Papers respecting Diplomatic transac- 
tions — His interpositions in favor of the Marquis La Fayette 
— Takes the Son of the Marquis under his Protection and 
Patronage. 

I 793~7- When the constitutional period arrived 
for the re-election of a President, it appeared that 
General Washington had a second time the unani- 
mous suffrage of his country for this exalted office. 
He entered upon its duties in the prospect that the 
administration of the Government would be attended 
with accumulated difficulty. 

The character of the American patriot is with reluc- 
tance blended in these pages with events of a local or 
temporary nature. It is painful to reflect, that his 
fair fame was even for a moment sullied by the foul 
breath of calumny. The pen is indignant to record 
charges against his honor and his patriotism, charges 
which their authors knew to be unfounded, and which 
were made only to answer the purposes of a party. 



374 LIFE OF WASHINGTON 0793-7- 

But it is impossible to portray the wisdom, the firm- 
ness, and prudence which were displayed during his 
second Presidency, or to show the good fortune which 
attended it, without bringing into distinct view the 
circumstances, under which he acted. Without a 
knowledge of the difficulties which he surmounted, 
and the opposition which he conquered, posterity will 
have no adequate conception of the merits of this 
period of his administration. 

The difference of political opinion arising from pur- 
suits of personal ambition, from discordant views of 
National and State policy, and from the danger to be 
apprehended from the encroachments of democracy, 
or from the abuse of power in the constituted govern- 
ment, had, since the establishment of the Federal 
Constitution, regularly increased in strength and 
asperity. It had appeared in all the important debates 
of Congress, had pervaded every part of the United 
States, and under its influence two political parties 
were by this time fully established, and nearly 
balanced ; the one the warm advocates, the other the 
determined opponents, of the measures of the Govern- 
ment. 

Although the President had readily given his sanc- 
tion to those acts of the Government which had agita- 
ted in the highest degree the passions of parties, yet 
there was that in his character which forbade his 
political enemies to denominate him the head of a 
party. He had stronghold of the affections and con- 
fidence of the great mass of his countrymen, and the 
most daring of the oppositionists thought it as yet 
impolitic to assail his patriotism ; but a crisis was 
evidently approaching, when he would be under the 
necessity of putting his personal influence to hazard, 



1793-7-1 LIFE 0F WASHINGTON. 375 

of subjecting himself to the obloquy of a virulent party, 
and of sustaining the assault of disappointed ambition. 

Unfortunately, the spirit of political controversy and 
division which agitated the nation entered the Cabi- 
net of the Executive, and discovered itself in almost 
every important subject that was submitted to their 
discussion. Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Hamilton were 
directly opposed to each other on almost all important 
national questions. This opposition, being frequently 
warmed by the collision of debate, finally settled into 
implacable political and personal animosity. The 
President noticed this hostility between his counsellors 
with grief and mortification ; and unwilling to part 
with either, he endeavored to reconcile them. In a 
letter addressed to the Secretary of State in August, 
1792, after stating the critical situation of the United 
States, with respect to foreign, nations, he thus feel- 
ingly touched upon the animosity that existed in the 
Cabinet : — 

" How unfortunate, how much to be regretted then, 
that while we are encompassed on all sides with avow- 
ed enemies, and insidious friends, internal dissensions 
should be harrowing and tearing our vitals. The last, 
to me, is the most serious, the most alarming, and the 
most afflicting of the two ; and without more charity 
for the opinions of one another in government matters, 
or some more infallible criterion by which the truth 
of speculative opinions, before they have undergone 
the test of experience, are to be forejudged than has 
yet fallen to the lot of fallibility, I believe it will be 
difficult, if not impracticable, to manage the reins of 
government, or keep the parts of it together ; for if, 
instead of laying our shoulders to the machine, after 
measures are decided on, one pulls this way, and 



376 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1793 

another that, before the utility of the thing is fairly- 
tried, it must inevitably be torn asunder ; and in my 
opinion, the fairest prospect of happiness and pros- 
perity that ever was presented to man will be lost, 
perhaps forever. 

" My earnest wish and fondest hope therefore is, 
that instead of wounding suspicions and irritating 
charges, there may be liberal allowances, mutual for- 
bearances, and temporizing yielding on all sides. Un- 
der the exercise of these, matters will go on smoothly, 
and, if possible, more prosperously. Without them, 
everything must rub ; the wheels of government will 
clog ; our enemies will triumph ; and by throwing 
their weight into the disaffected scale, may accomplish 
the ruin of the goodly fabric we have been erecting. 

" I do not mean to apply this advice, or these obser- 
vations, to any particular person or character. I 
have given them in the same general terms tc other 
officers of the Government, because the disagreements 
which have arisen from difference of opinions, and the 
attacks which have been made upon almost ill the 
measures of government, and most of its executive 
officers, have for a long time past filled me with pain- 
ful sensations, and cannot fail, I think, of producing 
unhappy consequences at home and abroad." 

To a letter of Mr. Jefferson's, in which he endeav- 
ored to prove, that although he wished to amend, yet 
he had advocated the adoption of the Federal Con- 
stitution, the President thus replied : — 

"I did not require the evidence of the extracts 
which you enclosed me to convince me of your attach- 
ment to the Constitution of the United States, or of 
your disposition to promote the general welfare of 
this country ; but I regret, deeply regret, the difference 



1793] LIFE 0F WASHINGTON. 377 

of opinion which has arisen, and divided you and 
another principal officer of the Government ; and wish 
devoutly there could be an accommodation of them by 
mutual yieldings. 

" A measure of this sort would produce harmony 
and consequent good in our public councils ; and the 
contrary will inevitably produce confusion and serious 
mischiefs ; and for what ? Because mankind cannot 
see alike, but would adopt different means to obtain 
the same end. For I will frankly and solemnly 
declare, that I believe the views of both to be pure 
and well meant, and that experience only will decide 
with respect to the salubrity of the measures which are 
the subject of this dispute. Why, then, when some 
of the best citizens of the United States, men of dis- 
cernment, uniform and tried patriots, who have no 
sinister views to promote, but are chaste in their ways 
of thinking and acting, are to be found, some on one 
side, and some on the other of the questions which 
have caused these agitations, why should either of 
you be so tenacious of your opinions as to make no 
allowance for those of the other ? 

'* I could, and indeed was about to add more on this 
interesting subject, but will forbear, at least for the 
present, after expressing a wish that the cup which 
has been presented to us may not be snatched from 
our lips by a discordance of action, when I am per- 
suaded that there is no discordance in your views. I 
have a great and sincere esteem for you both ; and 
ardently wish that some line could be marked out, by 
which both of you could walk." 

These serious endeavors of the President produced 
not their desired effect. The hostility of the two 
Secretaries remained in full force. The Attorney- 



3;S LIFE OF WASHINGTON: [1793 

General, almost without exception, coincided in opinion 
with Mr. Jefferson ; the Secretary of War generally 
accorded in judgment with Colonel Hamilton, and of 
consequence the President was deprived of the proper 
advice of his Council. But he possessed, in a degree 
which few other men ever did, the faculty to suspend 
his own judgment on every important subject, until 
he had exhausted every source of information, and 
had fully weighed the opinions of those about him. 
He early established it as a maxim never to give his 
opinion on any important question until the moment 
that a decision was necessarv, and from a rio;id ad- 
herence to this maxim on many critical occasions he 
derived singular advantage. In deliberating upon 
national subjects submitted to him as the Supreme 
Executive he appeared to be raised above the influence 
of passions, prejudice, and every personal and local 
consideration ; and having given every circumstance 
its weight, to decide from the dictates of pure in- 
telligence. 

This was the political situation of the United States 
when the French Revolution had made such progress 
as to acquire an influence over the feelings and the 
sentiments of the American people, and to render the 
diplomatic concerns of the Government with that 
countrv critical and embarrassing. 

Mr. Morris, the American minister at Paris, with 
much discrimination noticed the surprising events 
that were daily taking place in France, and trans- 
mitted a minute account of them to the President ; 
but while waiting for instructions, he cautiously avoid- 
ed committing the Government of his own country. 

On the deposition of the monarch, with all the 
bloody and ferocious deeds which accompanied it, the 



1 793-7-1 LIFE 0F WASHINGTON. 379 

President gave Mr. Morris the following information 
for the direction of his ministerial conduct : The exist- 
ing administration in France was to be acknowledged ; 
as every nation possesses an inherent right to settle 
the frame of its own government, and to manage its 
internal concerns ; that the United States would punc- 
tually pay the debt due to France, and would furnish 
any supplies to St. Domingo that the parent country 
might desire. Mr. Morris was directed to assure 
France of the friendly disposition of the United 
States, and that every opportunity would be em- 
braced to promote her welfare- 

Attached to Republican principles, the President 
fondly hoped that the struggle in France would ter- 
minate in a free government ; but his partiality towards 
the new order of things in that country was not so 
great as to render him forgetful that the aid given to 
America was afforded by the fallen king, or unmind- 
ful that he was the head of his own nation, whose in- 
dependence and prosperity he ought to hold in higher 
estimation than the interest of a foreign people. 

The prejudices and partialities of the American 
people towards England and France, excited by the 
revolutionary contest, had not at this period wholly 
subsided, and the commencement of war between re- 
generated France and the monarchs of Europe operated 
upon their feelings like a shock of electricity, Reason 
and judgment seemed to be laid aside, and nothing 
was heard but the language of passion. Without in- 
quiring which nation was the first aggressor, Americans 
could only see a number of despots combined against 
a sister republic, virtuously struggling to establish 
her liberty. Their national vanity was flattered by 
the persuasion that the spark which lighted the flame 



380 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1793-7. 

of liberty in France was taken from their altar, or, in 
the language of Dr Franklin, 4 the French having 
served an apprenticeship in America, set up for them- 
selves in Europe/' 

If a few individuals, more cool, doubted the ten- 
dency, and dreaded the issue of the commotions in 
France, they were generally denominated aristocrats, 
the enemies of equal liberty, and the enemies of their 
own country. 

Although there was no intention in the body of 
American citizens to involve the United States in a 
war, yet they generally discovered an ardent inclina- 
tion to grant those favors to France which must inev- 
itably lead to a state of hostility. 

The President was at Mount Vernon on some ur- 
gent private business, when the intelligence of the 
declaration of war between France and England 
reached the United States. Perceiving the import- 
ance of the crisis, he with haste returned to the seat 
of government, On the day which succeeded that of 
his arrival, April 17, 1793, he addressed the following 
letter to the members of his Cabinet, for their solemn 
deliberations : — 

44 The posture of affairs in Europe, particularly be- 
tween France and Great Britain, places the United 
States in a delicate situation, and requires much con- 
sideration of the measures which will be proper for 
them to observe in the war between those powers, 
With a view to forming a general plan of conduct for 
the Executive, I have stated and enclosed sundry ques- 
tions to be considered, preparatory to a meeting at 
my house to-morrow, where I shall expect to see you 
at 9 o'clock, and to receive the result of your reflec- 
tions thereon. 



1793-7-1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 381 

" Question I. Shall a proclamation issue for the 
purpose of preventing interferences of the citizens of 
the United States in the war between France and 
Great Britain, &c. ? Shall it contain a declaration of 
neutrality, or not ? What shall it contain ? 

" Question II. Shall a minister from the Republic 
of France be received ? 

"Question III. If received, shall it be absolutely, 
or with qualifications; and if with qualifications, of 
what kind ? 

" Question IV. Are the United States obliged by 
good faith to consider the treaties heretofore made 
with France, as applying to the present situation of 
the parties ? May they either renounce them or hold 
them suspended until the Government of France shall 
be established ? 

" Question V. If they have the right, is it expedi- 
ent to do either ? And which ? 

" Question VI. If they have an option, would it be 
a breach of neutrality to consider the treaty still in 
operation ? 

" Question VII. If the treaties are to be consid- 
ered as now in operation, is the guarantee in the 
treaty of alliance applicable to a defensive war only, 
or to war, either offensive or defensive ? 

" Question VIII. Does the war in which France 
is engaged appear to be offensive or defensive on her 
part ? Or of a mixed and equivocal character ? 

" Question IX. If of a mixed and equivocal char- 
acter, does the guarantee in any event apply to such 
a war ? 

" Question X. What is the effect of a guarantee, 
such as that to be found in the treaty of alliance be- 
tween the United States and France ? 



382 LIFE OF WASHINGTON [i793~7- 

"Question XI. Does any article in either of the 
treaties prevent ships of war, other than privateers, 
of the powers opposed to France, from coming into 
the ports of the United States, to act as convoys to 
their own merchantmen ? Or does it lay any other 
restraints upon them more than would apply to the 
ships of war of France ? 

" Question XII. Should the future Regent of 
France send a minister to the United States, ought 
he to be received ? 

" Question XIII. Is it necessary or advisable to 
call together the two houses of Congress with a view 
to the present posture of European affairs. If it is, 
what should be the particular objects of such a call? " 

On some of these questions he had already made 
up his mind, as appears from his communications to 
Mr. Morris, bat he thought it expedient to take a 
view of the whole subject. 

At the proposed meeting, the Cabinet unanimously 
recommended to the President to issue a Proclama- 
tion of Neutrality, forbidding the citizens of the United 
States to engage in any act of hostility against either 
of the belligerent powers, or to carry either of them 
articles contraband of war, and requiring them to re- 
frain from all acts unfriendly towards nations with 
whom the United States were at peace. This proc- 
lamation the President immediately issued. 

It was unanimously recommended to the President 
to receive a minister from the French Republic. 
The Cabinet was also united in the opinion, that it 
was inexpedient to call Congress together. On the 
other questions the usual difference of sentiment ex- 
isted. The Secretary of State and the Attorney-Gen- 
eral conceived that the changes in the government of 



1793-;] LIFE 0F WASHINGTON. 3S3 

France made no essential difference in the relation of 
the two nations ; but that in all respects the inter- 
course should proceed on principles established with 
the monarchy. The Secretaries of the Treasury and 
of War admitted the right of a nation to change the 
form of its government at will, but denied its right to 
involve other nations in all the consequences of alter- 
ations they might be disposed to make. The convul- 
sions of France, they thought, threatened dangers to 
nations in alliance with her, and maintained that the 
United States were at liberty to suspend the opera- 
tion of treaties with that country, when it was neces- 
sary for their own safety. 

Messrs. Jefferson and Randolph also contended that 
it was inexpedient to come to any decision respecting 
the application of the article of the guarantee to the 
present government. Messrs. Hamilton and Knox 
were of opinion that France being the aggressor, the 
war on her part was offensive, that the guarantee 
respecting only defensive war did not apply to the 
present state of things. 

The President again required the reasons in writing 
of each opinion, and after due investigation estab- 
lished those maxims for the support of neutral rights, 
which he firmly, but temperately, maintained through 
the succeeding period of his administration ; and 
which, amidst conflicts that prostrated the stablest 
pillars of European governments, preserved his coun- 
try from the miseries of war. 

In the state of the public sentiment which we have 
noticed, Air. Genet landed April 8th, 1793, at Charles- 
ton, South Carolina, as the minister of Republican 
France. Ardent in the constitutional temperament 
of his mind, inflated with the zeal of a new convert to 



384 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1793-7. 

the doctrine of liberty and equality, he conceived that 
the enlightened world felt a high interest in the revo- 
lution of his country, and that every man of virtue 
was disposed to espouse her cause. His reception at 
Charleston was calculated to increase his most san- 
guine views. From the Supreme Magistrate of the 
State, and from every class of citizens, he received 
warm expressions of enthusiastic devotion to the new 
republic. Taking these as evidence of the general 
disposition of the American people, he did not wait to 
present his official letter to the Executive, and to be 
accredited by him ; but availing himself of the favor- 
able situation of Charleston to fit out privateers 
against the West Indian trade, he presumed to au- 
thorize the arming of ships in that port, and to give 
commissions to cruise against the commerce of a 
nation with whom the United States were at amity. 
Prizes taken by these privateers were brought into 
American harbors, and French consuls were opening 
courts of admiralty to condemn them. 

From Charleston Mr. Genet travelled by land to 
Philadelphia, receiving in every part of his way the 
same ardent declarations of attachment to France. 
Although the unwarrantable conduct of Mr. Genet at 
Charleston was well known in Philadelphia, yet his 
entrance into the city was rendered pompous and tri- 
umphal, and " crowds flocked from every aver^ue of 
the city to meet the Republican ambassador of an 
allied nation." On the day after his arrival, addresses 
w 7 ere presented to him from particular societies, and 
from individual citizens, in which they expressed their 
exultation at the victories of France, and declared 
that in their opinion her success was essential to the 
safety of the American States. 



1793-7] LIFE 0F WASHINGTON 385 

On the 1 8th of May he presented his credentials 
to the President. These contained respectful senti- 
ments towards the government of the United States, 
and abounded with devotions to the American people. 
The President received him in an open and ingenuous 
manner, and with sincerity expressed his regard for 
the French nation. 

In this conference Mr. Genet declared that his gov- 
ernment had no desire to engage the United States 
in the European war, but wished them to pursue their 
own interest ; yet he persisted in the exercise of his 
assumed power, and a French privateer captured an 
English merchantman within the capes of the Dela- 
ware, while on her way to the ocean. This prize be- 
ing taken in the waters of the United States, and 
therefore under the control of the government, the 
British minister complained of this illicit proceeding, 
and demanded restitution of the property unlawfully 
taken from his countrymen. 

The Cabinet unanimously agreed that the proceed- 
ings of Mr. Genet were not warranted by any exist- 
ing treaties between the two nations ; were therefore 
violations of neutral rights, and that the government 
ought to prevent the repetition of them. They also 
agreed that restitution ought to be made of the prize 
taken within the waters of the Delaware. Respect- 
ing prizes taken upon the high seas, in virtue of com- 
missions issued by Genet, and brought into the 
American ports, the Cabinet were divided. Mr. Jef- 
ferson and Mr. Randolph held that the government 
was under no obligation to restore them to their orig- 
inal owners. Colonel Hamilton and General Knox 
contended that, to maintain an honest neutrality, the 
United States were bound to restore the prizes. 

25 



386 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1793-7. 

The President took time to deliberate on those 
points on which his Council were not agreed. 

Principles in which they were united, he estab- 
lished ; and directed the Secretary of State to give 
the necessary information to the ministers of France 
and Britain. 

Mr. Genet complained heavily of these rules of 
the American Government, as a violation of neutral 
right and as a breach of existing treaties between the 
two nations. 

In his comments upon these treaties, he claimed for 
France everything which the two nations had bound 
themselves not to grant to other countries, converting 
negative stipulations which respected other nations into 
grants of positive privileges to the contracting parties. 

He was informed, that out of respect to him the 
subject had been reviewed in the Cabinet ; but that 
the President saw no reason to change his opinion. 
Mr. Genet still refused acquiescence, and seemed to 
have entertained the expectation, that he should be 
able so far to avail himself of the partiality of the 
Americans for France as to bend the administration 
to his own purposes, or to overthrow it. 

Prosecutions having been commenced against two 
of the American citizens whom Genet engaged at 
Charleston to cruise in the service of France, he de- 
manded these men of the civil magistrate who had ar- 
rested them in the following very extraordinary lan- 
guage :— 

" I have this moment been informed that two offi- 
cers in the service of the republic of France, citizens 
Gideon Henfield and John Singletary, have been ar- 
rested on board the privateer of the French Republic, 
the Citizen Genet, and conducted to prison. The 



1793-7 1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 387 

crime laid to their charge, the crime which my mind 
cannot conceive and which my pen almost refuses to 
state, is the serving of France, and defending with her 
children the common glorious cause of liberty. 

" Being ignorant of any positive law or treaty which 
deprives Americans of this privilege, and authorizes 
officers of police arbitrarily to take mariners in the 
service of France from on board their vessels, I call 
upon your intervention, sir, and that of the President 
of the United States, in order to obtain the immediate 
releasement of the above-mentioned officers, who have 
acquired by the sentiments animating them, and by 
the act of their engagement, anterior to every act to 
the contrary, the right of French citizens if they have 
lost that of American citizens. " 

The President considered this insolent demand as 
an attack upon the honor and independence of the 
United States ; but without noticing the intemperate 
language of the French Minister, he steadily pursued 
the public interest. 

The leading individuals of that portion of the Amer 
ican people who had been opposed to the adoption of 
the National Constitution, and were opposed to the 
measures of the administration under it, in the par- 
tialities and prejudices manifested throughout the 
Union towards France and Great Britain, saw the 
probable means to weaken the confidence and alienate 
the affection which the citizens of the United States 
manifested towards the President, and in this way to 
bring about a revolution in the national government. 
In pursuance of this plan, the resentments and the 
enthusiastic sympathies of the people were fostered ; 
and democratic societies, in imitation of the Jacobin 
Club in Paris, were formed. The victories of France 



388 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [i/93-7- 

were celebrated by feasts, bonfires, and other public 

rejoicings. 

The measures adopted by the Executive to preserve 
the peace of the nation, were villified in the newspa- 
pers devoted to the opposition ; the proclamation of 
neutrality was declared to be an exercise of power, 
with which the Constitution did not invest the Presi- 
dent ; and the measures of the administration gen- 
erally were pronounced to be unfriendly to France, 
and to carry evidence of their intention to break with 
that Republic and to join in the royal crusade against 
liberty. Mr. Genet was justified in the construction 
of the existing treaties between the two nations, and 
he was urged to persist in his opposition to the meas- 
ures of the American government. 

The President deeply felt the insult offered to the 
nation by the attempt of the French minister to con- 
tinue the exercise of an usurped authority within the 
United States; but l\3 knew the importance of yield- 
ing to the feelines of his countrymen, as far as con- 
sisted with the dis:nitv of his station, and with the in- 
dependence, the peace, and welfare of his country. 
He contented himself with confuting in a cool and 
dispassionate manner the extravagant positions of Mr. 
Genet, and inflexibly adhered to his system. 

Private business called him to Mount Vernon, and 
he was absent from the seat of government from the 
24th of June to the 1 1 th of July. During his absence 
the heads of departments superintended the execu- 
tion of the measures that had been agreed upon in 
the cabinet. At this time an event took place which 
fully exhibits the rashness of the French minister, and 
shows the difficulty to which he subjected the admin- 
istration. 



1793-7 •] LIFE 0F WASHINGTON. 389 

A French privateer brought an English merchant- 
man, the Little Sarah, into Philadelphia. This vessel 
Genet equipped as a privateer. Having mounted 
fourteen iron cannon, and six swivels, and taken on 
board one hundred and twenty men, a number ot 
whom were Americans, she was about to sail under 
the name of La Petite Democrat. In this situation 
the Secretary of the Treasury reported her case to 
the Secretaries of State and of War. Governor 
Mifflin was in consequence requested to make exam- 
ination, and on the 14th of July he reported that she 
was to sail next day. By desire of the heads of de- 
partments the Governor sent Mr. Dallas, Secretary of 
State for Pennsylvania, to request Mr. Genet to relieve 
them from the disagreeable necessity of preventing 
by force the sailing of a privateer equipped in their 
ports. This request excited in that minister the most 
violent passion, which he vented in very intemperate 
and abusive language, declared that La Petite Demo- 
crat would repel force by force, and threatened to 
appeal from the Executive to the people. Mr, Jeffer- 
son in person waited upon him to renew the request, 
that he would order the privateer not to sail until the 
pleasure of the President could be known ; Mr. Jeffer- 
son reported, that after an ebullition of passion, and 
some equivocation, he understood Mr. Genet to prom- 
ise, that the privateer should fall down below Ches- 
ter, and there wait the will of the President. Colonel 
Hamilton and General Knox were for taking measures 
to prevent her sailing, but Mr. Jefferson, professing 
his confidence in the promise of Mr. Genet, opposed 
them, and they were not put in execution. 

These proceedings were immediately reported to 
the President on his return to the seat of govern- 



3QO LIFE OF WASHINGTON. li 793-7. 

merit Mr Jefferson had then retired, indisposed, to 
his country house, and the President wrote him as 
follows : — 

" What is to be done in the case of the Little 
Sarah, now at Chester ? Is the minister of the French 
Republic to set the acts of this government at defi- 
ance with impunity ? And threaten the Executive 
with an appeal to the people ? What must the world 
think of such conduct ? And of the United States in 
submitting to it ? 

" These are serious questions. Circumstances press 
for decision ; and as you have had time to consider 
them, upon me they come unexpectedly, I wish to 
know your opinion upon them even before to-morrow, 
for the vessel may then be gone." 

In answer to this letter, the Secretary of State in- 
formed the President, that Mr. Genet had assured him 
that the vessel should not sail before the decision of 
the Executive respecting it should be known ; and 
coercive measures were therefore suspended. In 
council, next day, it was determined to detain the 
armed vessels of belligerents in port. This determi- 
nation was made known to Genet, but in contempt of 
it the privateer sailed. The opposition applauded even 
this act of resistance in the French minister. The 
unwearied endeavor of the administration, by a faith- 
ful observance of treaties, and an impartial treatment 
towards belligerent powers, to secure the blessings of 
peace, and the rights of neutrality to the United States, 
was construed into a violation of those treaties, and 
into an insidious scheme to force the country into a 
war against France. 

The French minister persisted in his exposition of 
the treaty, and in repeated letters, written in abusive 



1793-7-1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 391 

and insulting language to the Secretary of State, de- 
manded reparation of injuries his country had sus- 
tained. 

The President was at length convinced of the ne- 
cessity of taking effectual measures with Genet, and 
on the 25th of July he wrote the following letter to 
Mr. Jefferson. 

" As the official conduct of Mr. Genet, relatively to 
the affairs of this government, will have to undergo a 
very serious consideration, so soon as the special 
court at which the Attorney-General is now engaged 
will allow him to attend with convenience, in order to 
decide upon measures proper to be taken thereupon, 
it is my desire that all the letters to and from that 
Minister may be ready to be laid before me, the heads 
of departments, and the Attorney-General, whom I 
shall advise with on the occasion, together with the 
minutes of such oral communications as you may have 
had with him on the subject of these letters, &c. 
And as the memorials from the British minister, and 
answers thereto, are materially connected therewith 
it will be proper, I conceive to have these ready also." 

The Executive proceeded with the unanimous con- 
sent of the Cabinet to establish a system by which to 
regulate the intercourse with nations at war. The 
rules adopted give evidence of the unalterable purpose 
of the President sacredly to observe all national en- 
gagements, and honestly to perform every duty due 
to belligerent powers; and they manifest a deter- 
mination to insist on the uninterrupted exercise of the 
rights of neutrality for his own country. It was also 
agreed that prizes brought into American ports by 
privateers equipped in them, should be restored, or 
compensation be made for them, and that armed ves- 



392 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1793-7. 

sels of this description should not be permitted to re- 
main in American harbors. 

These regulations were communicated to the min- 
isters of the belligerent nations, and in the same let- 
ter, the privileges stipulated by treaty for France 
were stated, and a solicitude was expressed for their 
security. 

After deliberate attention to the conduct and cor- 
respondence of the French minister, it was agreed 
that a letter should be written to Mr. Morris, Amer- 
ican minister at Paris, stating the reasons on which 
the measures of the Administration with belligerent 
nations were founded, giving information of the dis- 
agreement of Mr. Genet with the government, and 
requesting his recall. The communication to the 
French Government on this subject concluded in the 
following manner. " After independence and self- 
government, there was nothing America more sin- 
cerely wished than perpetual friendship with them." 

The threat of Mr. Genet to appeal from the Presi- 
dent to the people being reported on most respectable 
authority, made a deep impression on the public 
mind* That portion of the American people which 
were originally in favor of adopting the national 
constitution of government generally approved the 
measures of the administration ; and although they 
thought favorably of the revolution of France, and 
wished well to our cause, yet they were indignant at 
the insult offered by her minister to the Chief Mag- 
istrate of the United States. The appeal having been 
made to them, they felt themselves constrained by 
every feeling of patriotism to support their own gov- 
ernment in measures they deemed to be fair, just, and 
impartial. In every part of the United States the 



1793-7]- LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 393 

people assembled in their towns and districts to ex~ 
press their opinions on public measures. The con- 
test was warm, but the great majority of \oices was 
found on the side of the administration, its measures 
were approved ; and it fully appeared that the affec- 
tion and confidence of the American people in the 
President existed in their force and efficacy. Yet at 
the moment that public indignation was expressed at 
the attempt to exercise a foreign influence over the 
American councils it was evident that those who ex- 
pressed it felt a strong partiality in favor of France in 
her contention with England. 

In the spirit of conciliation, General Washington 
determined not to take violent measures with Genet, 
until the result of the complaint lodged against him 
with his own government should be known, and with 
magnanimity he bore his abuses. But at length, 
patience and forbearance were exhausted. 

In 1794 the French minister deliberately planned 
two expeditions against Spain, to be carried on from 
the United States, and granted commissions to Amer- 
ican citizens to be officers in them, who privately en- 
listed men for the purpose. The conquest of the 
Floridas was the object of one of these expeditions, 
and Georgia was the place of rendezvous for the 
troops destined to this service. The other was de- 
signed for the invasion of Louisiana, and was to be 
prosecuted from Kentucky down the Ohio and Mis- 
sissippi. The arrangements were all made ; but be- 
fore the plan was ripe for execution, the government 
interposed, and some of the principal agents were ar- 
rested. No government, the President conceived, 
which had any pretentions to independence, could 
submit to insults of this nature. 



394 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON 



U793-7- 



Having consulted with the Vice-President, the 
heads of derailments, and other leading characters 
in the government, he determined to suspend the 
ministerial functions, and to confine the person of 
Genet. Messages to the two houses of the Legis- 
lature on this subject were prepared, and orders were 
given to the marshal to take the French minister 
into custody. But the evening preceding the day on 
which these orders were to have been carried into 
execution, official letters from Mr. Morris informed 
the President that Mr. Genet was recalled, which pre- 
vented the necessity of carrying the measure to ex- 
tremity. One instance among many of the indepen- 
dence, the firmness, and the good fortune of President 
Washington. 

Mr. Fauchet, the successor of Mr. Genet, brought 
assurances that his government disapproved of the 
conduct of his predecessor, and made warm declara- 
tions of his own disposition to consult the peace and 
honor of the government of the United States, and his 
practices for a time corresponded with his language. 

About this period the executive of the French Gov- 
ernment made known to the President their wishes 
that Mr. Morris might be recalled. He immediately 
complied with their request, and nominated Colonel 
Monroe, of Virginia, as his successor, an appointment 
peculiarly pleasing to the friends of France. 

The task of the Executive was rendered still more 
delicate, arduous, and difficult by the conduct of Great 
Britain. 

The court of London had declined a treaty with 
Congress under the old confederation. At the com- 
mencement of the Federal Government, the adminis- 
tration was disposed to negotiate with Great Britain, 



1793-7] LIFE 0F WASHINGTON". 395 

without committing the honor of the nation. Mr. 
Gouverneur Morris, who was in England on private 
business, was directed to open an informal conference 
with members of the British Cabinet on the subject 
of American affairs. With much address he executed 
this commission, but to little purpose. He informed 
the President that the Duke of Leeds and Mr. Pitt 
manifested a disposition to live on terms of amity and 
friendship with the United States, but discovered no 
inclination to enter into a commercial treaty with 
them ; that they complained of the neglect of the 
American Government to execute the stipulations of 
the treaty of peace, for which neglect they justified 
their retention of the western posts. 

In this situation the French revolution found Great 
Britain and the United States. At the commence- 
ment of the war between France and England, various 
circumstances indicated the probability that America 
would be brought into the contention against Britain. 

The warm and animated expressions of fraternity 
made by the American people towards France ; the 
festivals in celebration of French victories, and the 
manifest partiality which many discovered for her in 
the management of the war, probably led the British 
Cabinet to think that the United States were disposed 
to become parties in the war, and induced them to 
adopt measures to meet this hostile spirit. On the 
other hand, the unfriendly indications of the English 
court, and the impressments of American seamen in 
the British ports, in addition to the common vexation 
of neutrals on the high seas, and the attempt to starve 
France by carrying American provision vessels into 
English ports, was so much fuel to feed the passions 
of the Americans already in a blaze. 



396 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1793-7. 

In this state of national affairs, the President met 
Congress on the 4th of December, 1793. In the 
speech delivered on this interesting occasion, he thus 
noticed his re-election to the Presidency : — 

" Since the commencement of the term for which I 
have again been call into office, no fit occasion has 
arisen for expressing to my fellow-citizens at large the 
deep and respectful sense which I feel of the renew- 
ed testimony of public approbation. While on the 
one hand, it awakened my gratitude for all those in- 
stances of affectionate partiality with which I have 
been honored by my country ; on the other, it could 
not prevent an earnest wish for that retirement from 
which no private consideration should ever have torn 
me. But influenced by the belief that my conduct 
would be estimated according to its real motives, and 
that the people, and the authorities derived from them, 
would support exertions having nothing personal for 
their object, I have obeyed the suffrage which com- 
manded me to resume the executive power ; and I 
humbly implore that Being on whose will the fate of 
nations depends, to crown with success our mutual 
endeavors for the general happiness." 

He then made the following communications re- 
specting the measures of the Administration : — 

" As soon as the war in Europe had embraced those 
powers with whom the United States have the most 
extensive relations, there was reason to apprehend 
that our intercourse with them might be interrupted, 
and our disposition for peace drawn in question by 
suspicions too often entertained by belligerent nations. 
It seemed therefore to be my duty to admonish our 
citizens of the consequence of a contiaband trade, and 
of hostile acts to any of the parties ; and to obtain by 



1793-7 ] LIFE OF WASHINGTON 397 

a declaration of the existing state of things an easier 
admission of our rights to the immunities belonging 
to our situation. Under these impressions the proc- 
lamation was issued. 

" In this posture of affairs, both new and delicate, I 
resolved to adopt general rules, which should conform 
to the treaties, and assert the privileges of the United 
States. These were reduced into a system, which 
shall be communicated to you." 

After noticing those legislative provisions which his 
experience dictated as necessary, he proceeded : 

" I cannot recommend to your notice measures for 
the fulfilment of our duties to the rest of the world, 
without again pressing upon you the necessity of 
placing yourselves in a situation of complete defence, 
and of exacting from them the fulfilment of their 
duties towards us. The United States ought not to 
indulge a persuasion that, contrary to the order of 
human events, they will forever keep at a distance 
those painful appeals to arms, with which the history 
of every other nation abounds. There is a rank due 
to the United States among nations, which will be 
withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of 
weakness. If we desire to avoid insult, we must be 
able to repel it ; if we desire to secure peace, one of 
the most powerful instruments of our prosperity, it 
must be known that we are at all times ready for war." 

After advising the greatest appropriations for the 
redemption of the public debt, which the resources of 
the country would permit, he in the following manner 
concluded the address : — 

" The several subjects to which I have now referred 
open a wide range to your deliberations, and involve 
some of the choicest interests of our common country. 



39 8 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1793-7. 

Permit me to bring to your remembrance the magni- 
tude of your task. Without an unprejudiced coolness, 
the welfare of the government may be hazarded ; 
without harmony, as far as consists with freedom of 
sentiment, its dignity may be lost. But as the legis- 
lative proceedings of the United States will never, I 
trust, be reproached for the want of temper, or of can- 
dor, so shall not the public happiness languish from 
the want of my strenuous and warmest co-operations." 

The party in the United States opposed to the gen- 
eral system on which the Federal Government had 
been administered, by associating the cause of France 
with their own, had increased their members in the 
present Congress ; but they were not prepared to at- 
tack either the discernment or the patriotism of the 
President. The House of Representatives, in their 
answer, thus noticed the unanimous suffrage by which 
General Washington had a second time been elect- 
ed to the Presidency. 

" It was with equal sincerity and promptitude they 
embraced the occasion for expressing to him their 
congratulations on so distinguished a testimony of 
public approbation, and their entire confidence in the 
purity and patriotism of the motives which had pro- 
duced this obedience to the voice of his country. It 
is to virtues that have commanded Ions; and universal 
reverence, and services from which have flowed great 
and lasting benefits, that the tribute of praise may be 
paid without the reproach of flattery ; and it is from 
the same sources that the fairest anticipations may be 
derived in favor of public happiness." The proclama- 
tion of neutrality was in a cautious manner approved, 
and a disposition was expressed to support the Execu- 
tive. 



1793-7 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 399 

The answer of the Senate breathed unreserved af- 
fection and confidence. Referring to the second elec- 
tion of the President, they observed : — 44 In the unan- 
imity which a second time marks this important 
national act, we trace with particular satisfaction, 
besides the distinguished tribute paid to the virtues 
and abilities which it recognizes, another proof of that 
just discernment, and constancy of sentiments and 
views, which have hitherto characterized the citizens 
of the United States." They declared the proclama- 
tion to be " a measure well timed and wise, manifest- 
ing a watchful solicitude for the welfare of the nation, 
and calculated to promote it." 

At the close of this year, Mr. Jefferson resigned 
his secretaryship, and was succeeded by Mr, E. Ran- 
dolph ; and Mr. William Bradford was appointed At- 
torney-general. 

After a very animated debate, January, 1794, a bill 
passed Congress by a very small majority, to build six 
frigates, and it received the cordial assent of the 
Executive. This was the commencement of the 
American navy. 

In November, 1793, the British Government had 
given instructions to her ships to detain all vessels 
laden with goods, the produce of any colony belong- 
ing to France, or carrying provisions or other supplies 
to those colonies, and bring them into English ports 
for adjudication. 

These instructions were thought, by reflecting men 
in America, to be proof of a hostile spirit in the 
British Cabinet towards the United States, and Con- 
gress deemed it expedient to be prepared to meet the 
probable event of war. They accordingly laid an 
embargo for the term of thirty days, and with great 



4oo 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1793-7- 



unanimity adopted provisional measures of self-de- 
fence. 

While these measures were in train, the President 
on the 4th of April, 1794, transmitted to Congress a 
letter from Mr. Pinckney, who had been appointed 
minister at the Court of London, which contained in- 
formation that the orders of November were revoked, 
and instructions given to cruisers to bring in for 
adjudications only those neutral vessels which were 
laden with the produce of French Islands on a direct 
voyage from those islands to Europe ; and gave the 
substance of a conversation between Lord Grenville 
and Mr. Pinckney in which his lordship more satis- 
factorily explained the instructions of November ; and 
manifested a disposition to cultivate peace and amity 
with the United States. 

This communication made a deep impression on the 
Federal members of Congress. They thought that a 
door was opened for negotiation, and that war might 
probably be avoided. 

The opposition members and the partisans of France, 
alarmed by these symptoms of moderation, redoubled 
their attack upon England, and upon all who were 
disposed to cultivate friendship with her. Newspapers 
were filled with invectives of this nature, and every 
epithet of vileness and calumny was made use of to 
inflame the public mind, and increase the hostility of 
the nation against Great Britain. The majority of 
Congress discovered a* disposition to proceed in their 
military preparations, in which the sentiment of the 
community seemed to support them, and general ap- 
pearances still indicated approaching hostilities. 

The President foresaw the evils that must be intro- 
duced by a war with Great Britain, in the distempered 



I793-7-] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



401 



state of the public mind. He knew that she com- 
manded the ocean, that she presented the best markets 
for the exports of the United States, and furnished, on 
the easiest terms, those manufactures which were 
necessary to his countrymen. He perceived that the 
devotion of the people to France would throw the 
United States into her arms, and that his country 
must become a mere satellite of her will. He was not 
without some apprehension, that the bloody and fero- 
cious spirit that had disgraced the French revolution 
might be introduced into the peaceable society of 
America. 

Under these solemn impressions, he determined to 
use his endeavors to arrest the dreaded evil, and on 
the 1 6th of April he nominated in the Senate an 
Envoy Extraordinary to the Court of Great Britain, 
and for the following reasons : — 

" The communications which I have made to you 
during your present session, from the dispatches of 
our minister in London, contain a serious aspect of 
our affairs with Great Britain. But as peace ought to 
be pursued with unremitted zeal before the last 
resource, which has so often been the scourge of 
nations, and cannot fail to check the advanced pros- 
perity of the United States, is- contemplated, I have 
thought proper to nominate John Jay, as Envoy Ex- 
traordinary of the United States to his Britannic 
Majesty. 

" My confidence in our Minister Plenipotentiary in 
London continues undiminished. But a mission like 
this, while it corresponds with the solemnity of the 
occasion, will announce to the world a solicitude for 
the friendly, adjustment of our complaints, and a reluc- 
tance to hostility. Going immediately from the United 

26 



402 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1793-7. 



States, such an envoy will carry with him a full 
knowledge of the existing temper and sensibility of 
our country, and will thus be taught to vindicate our 
rights with firmness, and to cultivate peace with sin- 
cerity/' 

To a considerable part of Congress, and to a large 
portion of the American people, this decisive act was 
unexpected and displeasing ; and it was adopted in full 
view of the obloquy and abuse of which it would be 
the occasion. 

A motion made to stay the proceedings against 
Great Britain, on account of the pending negotiation, 
was overruled in the House of Representatives; and 
a bill prohibiting commercial intercourse with her 
carried by a considerable majority ; which was lost in 
the Senate by the casting vote of the Vice-President. 

The authority of the Executive to issue the proc- 
lamation of neutrality had by many been doubted ; his 
power to call out the militia to prevent the sailing of 
privateers, which had violated his rules, denied ; and 
the American citizens who had been prosecuted for 
engaging in expeditions the against nations at war, had 
been acquitted by a jury of trials. The President, 
therefore, although entertaining himself no doubt 
about his constitutional authority, was desirous to 
obtain the sanction of Congress for the system he had 
adopted to preserve the peace of the country. 

At the commencement of the session, he intima- 
ted to the National Legislature the propriety of the 
measure, and in pursuance of his advice the Senate 
introduced a bill prohibiting within the United States 
the exercise, by foreign ministers, of those acts of 
sovereignty which Genet claimed, and subjecting to 
fine and imprisonment those who should be guilty of 



1793-7-j LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 403 

any of the acts towards the belligerent nations, which 
the Executive had forbidden. This bill, necessary as 
it was to the honor and peace of the nation, was op- 
posed by the whole force of the Anti-federalists, and 
finally passed the Senate by the casting vote of the 
Vice-President. 

On the 9th of June, 1794, the session of Congress, 
which had been active and stormy, closed. 

In the course of this year the President was called 
to an important but painful duty in administering the 
domestic concerns of the government. 

Under the last Presidency an act had passed, laying 
a duty on spirits distilled within the United States. 

To the inhabitants in the western counties of Penn- 
sylvania this was highly offensive. The whole district 
had been from the beginning hostile to the Federal 
Constitution. They had with acrimony opposed its 
adoption, and were in opposition to all the measures 
of the administration. Emboldened by the hoarse 
and loud clamors of their party, they absolutely refused 
compliance with the law. The President with anxiety 
saw this combination, but waited in the expectation 
that the quiet submission to the act in other parts of 
the Union, would induce the people of the district to 
yield obedience. In the mean time he recommended 
to Congress to modify the act in such a manner as to 
remove every reasonable objection. Accordingly in 
May, 1792, the National Legislature took up the sub- 
ject, and made such alterations in the act as experience 
dictated would be salutary. This revision did not 
conciliate the insurgents. The officers who attempted 
to collect the duty were violently opposed. In county 
and district conventions a systematic opposition was 
planned ; and banishment from the circle of good 



4 04 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1794 

neighborhood, and from all the benefits and pleasures 
of social intercourse, was denounced against all who 
should aid the public officers ; and the officers them- 
selves were threatened with every personal outrage, 
should they persist in the endeavor to execute the 
duties of their office. 

Knowing the importance of breaking this daring 
combination, the President issued a proclamation, ad- 
monishing all persons to desist from proceedings 
designed to obstruct the execution of the laws requir- 
ing the interposition of magistrates in support of 
government, and directing the prosecution of offenders. 

The proclamation not producing the desired effect, 
he endeavored to prevent the necessity of having re- 
course to military force, by making it the interest of 
the distillers to pay the duty. 

Prosecutions were instituted against delinquents 
where they could be sustained, the spirits distilled in 
the counties opposing the law were ordered to be seized 
on their way to market, by the officers of the revenue, 
and the contractors for the army were directed to pur- 
chase only the spirits, on which the duties had been 
paid. But whatever were the wishes of the distillers, 
the fear of an infuriated populace prevented a com- 
pliance with these orders ; and the insurgents 
took encouragement from the lenity of the Executive, 
in the expectation of ultimate success. By violent 
threats they deterred the marshal from the service of 
his precepts, committed numerous outrages upon the 
friends of government, and organized themselves into 
military bands to resist any force that might be sent to 
subject them to the laws. 

The President had for three years patiently waited 
the effect of conciliatory measures, but these had only 



1749 ] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 405 

rendered the opposition more desperate. He there- 
fore had only to choose between the alternative of 
permitting the prostration of the government, or to 
call out its force in support of the laws. 

The subject in all its momentous consequences was 
laid before the Cabinet, and General Mifflin, the Gov- 
ernor of Pennsylvania, was on this occasion called into 
the council. Their unanimous desire was to avoid, if 
possible, the coercion of the military, and they there« 
fore advised, that commissioners should be sent to 
the insurgents to warn them of their danger and to 
offer a pardon of past offences, on condition of future 
obedience to the laws. It was also advised that a proc- 
lamation should be issued in conformity to the act ot 
Congress, commanding the insurgents to disperse by 
a given day. But in respect to ultimate operations, 
there was not an unanimity of opinion. The Gov- 
ernor of Pennsylvania thought that the militia of that 
state would be insufficient to suppress the insurrec- 
tion, and appeared apprehensive of danger from the 
attempt to call out the pow T er of government. Mr. 
Randolph, Secretary of State, expressed his fears on 
account of the numbers and strength of the insurgents. 
He doubted whether the militia would obey the orders 
of the Executive, and march to suppress by force of 
arms this combination ; if they should, he doubted the 
success of the expedition, and foreboded civil war in 
all its horrors as the consequence of a failure. 

The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of 
War, and the Attorney-General, were of opinion, that 
the President was bound by the most sacred obliga- 
tions, to use the means placed at his disposal, faithfully 
to execute the law. They therefore advised him to 
try the power of the government to coerce submis 



4 o6 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1794. 

sion ; and from policy and humanity to march a force 
into the insurgent counties too strong to be resisted. 

The President did nA hesitate to do his duty. 
Without exerting the means of prevention in his 
power, he could not see the laws prostrated, and the 
authority of the United States defied. 

On the 7th of August, he issued the proclamation 
which the law made a prerequisite to the employment 
of force. In it he gave a recapitulation of the meas- 
ures of Government, and of the opposition of the in- 
surgents, and thus proceeded : " Whereas it was in 
his judgment necessary, under the circumstances of 
the case, to take measures for calling forth the militia 
in order to suppress the combinations aforesaid, and to 
cause the laws to the duly executed, and he had ac- 
cordingly determined so to do ; feeling the deepest re- 
gret for the occasion, but withal the most solemn con- 
viction that the essential interests of the Union de- 
manded it ; that the very existence of government, 
and the fundamental principles of social order were 
involved in the issue ; and that the patriotism and 
firmness of all good citizens were seriously called 
upon to aid in the suppression of so fatal a spirit." 
The proclamation closed by ordering all insurgents, 
and all other persons whom it might concern, on or 
before the first day of the ensuing September, to dis- 
perse and retire to their respective homes. Orders 
were on the same day issued to the Governors of 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, 
for their respective quotas of twelve thousand men, 
which at a subsequent period was increased to fifteen 
thousand, who were to be held in readiness to march 
at a minute's warning. 

Reluctant to draw the sword upon his fellow-citi' 



I794-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 407 

zens, the President at this awful crisis determined to 
make one more attempt to reclaim by mild entreaty 
his deluded countrymen. The Attorney-General, 
Judge Yates, and Mr. Ross, were commissioned to 
bear to the insurgents a general amnesty for all past 
crimes, on condition of future obedience ; but the 
clemency of the government was again spurned, and 
its power disregarded. 

The insurgents, forming an opinion from the lan- 
guage of democratic societies, and from the publica- 
tions in anti-federal newspapers, seem to have enter- 
tained the supposition that their disaffection was gen- 
erally felt by the citizens of the United States, and 
that the attempt to suppress them would issue in a 
revolution of the government. 

That the Executive of Pennsylvania might act in 
unison with the National Administration, Governor 
Mifflin had also issued a proclamation, and appointed 
commissioners to join those of the nation. 

The faction opposed to government insidiously 
attempted to obstruct the execution of the orders of 
the President, but without effect ; the community ex- 
pressed unequivocally the determination to support the 
government, and to execute the laws. The personal 
influence of Governor Mifflin surmounted the obstruc- 
tions which arose from the insufficiency of the militia 
laws of Pennsylvania ; the officers and men of the re- 
spective states obeyed the summons with an alacrity 
that exceeded the expectation of the most sanguine, 
and the required number of troops was seasonably in 
readiness to obey the orders of the commander-in- 
chief. 

The command of the expedition was given to Gov- 
ernor Lee of Virginia, and the Governors of Pennsyl- 



4 o8 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1794, 

vania and New Jersey commanded the militia of their 
respective States under him. This force moved into 
the insurgent counties and bore down all opposition. 
Thus by the vigor and prudence of the Executive, 
this formidable and alarming insurrection was, with- 
out the sacrifice of a life, subdued. 

The President attributed this insurrection in a great 
degree to the influence of the democratic societies. 
This opinion he expressed in his private letters, ard 
in his public communications to the Legislature. In 
a letter to Mr. Jay, he observed : — 

"That the self-created societies, who have spread 
themselves over this country, have been laboring in- 
cessantly to sow the seeds of distrust, jealousy, and of 
course discontent, hoping thereby to effect some rev- 
olution in the government, is not unknown to you. 
That they have been the fomenters of the western dis- 
turbances, admits of no doubt in the mind of any one 
who will examine their conduct. But, fortunately they 
have precipitated a crisis for which they were not pre- 
pared ; and thereby have unfolded views which will, I 
trust, effect their annihilation sooner than it might 
have happened/' 

General Washington had the firmness and inde- 
pendence to denounce these societies to the National 
Legislature, and to lend his personal influence to 
counteract their designs, thereby bringing upon him- 
self their resentment. 

In his official address to Congress, on the 19th of 
November, he, as a channel of public information, 
narrated the rise, progress, and issue of the insurrec- 
tion, passed a merited encomium on the patriotism of 
those who had with alacrity exerted themselves to 
suppress it, and proceeded to observe : — 



1794 J LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 409 

"To every description of citizens, let praise be 
given. But let them persevere in their affectionate 
vigilance over that precious depository of American 
happiness, the Constitution of the United States. 
And when in the calm moments of reflection, they 
shall have retraced the origin and progress of the 
insurrection, let them determine whether it has not 
been fomented by combinations of men, who, careless 
of consequences and disregarding the unerring truth, 
that those who rouse, cannot always appease a civil 
convulsion, have disseminated, from an ignorance or 
perversion of facts, suspicions, jealousies, and accusa- 
tions of the whole government." He on this occa- 
sion renewedly recommended to the Legislature the 
organization of the militia, and made such other com- 
munications as the state of the country rendered ex- 
pedient. 

In their answer to this address, the Senate said : 
" Our anxiety arising from the licentious and open 
resistance to the laws in the western counties of 
Pennsylvania, has been increased by the proceedings 
of certain self-created societies relative to the laws and 
administrations of the government ; proceedings, in 
our apprehensions, founded in political error, calcu- 
lated, if not intended, to disorganize our government, 
and which, by inspiring delusive hopes of support, have 
been instrumental in misleading our fellow-citizens in 
the scene of insurrection." 

They expressed an unqualified approbation of the 
measures adopted by the Executive to suppress the 
insurrection, and concluded in the following manner : 
" At a period so momentous in the affairs of nations ; 
the temperate, just, and firm policy that you have 
pursued in respect to foreign powers, has been emi- 



4 io LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1795. 

nently calculated to promote the great and essential 
interest of our country, and has created the fairest 
title to the public gratitude and thanks." 

The House of Representatives was not thus cordial 
and approbatory in their answer to the speech of the 
President. 

After much debate, they omitted to notice the con- 
duct of the Executive with foreign powers, and they 
made no reply to his observations on self-created so- 
cieties. In other points, the answer was respectful. 

On the last of January, 1795, Mr. Hamilton resigned 
his place as Secretary of the Treasury, and was suc- 
ceeded by Mr. Oliver Wolcott. And soon after 
General Knox resigned the Secretaryship of War, 
and was succeeded by Colonel T. Pickering. 

While these events were taking place in America, 
Judge Jay was executing a commission in England 
highly important to his country. 

From the moment that he was admitted to a confer- 
ence with the British Cabinet, he with the ardor of a 
patriot and the ability of a statesman devoted himself 
to the business of his mission. While decorous in his 
behavior towards the British crown, he maintained 
the respectability of his own character, and supported 
the honor of the United States. Persuaded that war 
would be the consequence of a failure of his negotia- 
tion, he patiently attended to the investigation of the 
subject in controversy, and finally agreed with Lord 
Greenville upon a treaty between the two countries. 
In a letter to the President, he declared this to be the 
best it was possible to obtain, and added : " I ought 
not to conceal from you, that the confidence reposed 
in your personal character was visible and useful 
throughout the negotiation." 



1795-1 LIFE 0F WASHINGTON. 4II 

On the 8th of June, the President submitted the 
treaty, with the documents which attended it, to the 
deliberation of the Senate, that they might " in their 
wisdom decide whether they would advise and con- 
sent that it should be ratified." 

After deliberate investigation, the Senate, by ex- 
actly two thirds of their numbers, the constitutional 
majority advised to its ratification, with some qualifica- 
tion of the 1 2th Article. 

Great exertion had been made by the party that 
opposed the mission of Mr. Jay, to keep alive the 
spirit of hostility to Great Britain. The secrecy ob- 
served in the negotiation was pointedly reprobated as 
a violation of the first principles of a Republican 
Government, and every circumstance that transpired 
respecting it, was used as a means to excite odium 
against the negotiation, and prejudice against the 
treaty. While the train was laying to enkindle a 
public flame, word was received through a credible 
channel that the British Court had renewed the orders 
to their cruisers to detain provision vessels bound to 
French ports. Although the President had previously 
determined to ratify the treaty, yet on this information 
he ordered a strong remonstrance to be drawn against 
those orders, and suggested to his Cabinet the pro- 
priety of suspending the exchange of the ratified treaty 
upon their revocation. 

In this stage of the business he was called to 
Mount Vernon. 

During his absence, and while the public mind was 
in a state of irritation, a senator in Congress from 
Virginia, violating the decorum and the rules of the 
Senate, sent an incorrect copy of the treaty to the 
Editor of a democratic paper, and through the press 



4 i2 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [179s. 

it was immediately communicated to the public. If 
the attempts to negotiate were represented as incon- 
sistent with the honor of the United States, and all 
the circumstances attending it criminated as a dere- 
liction of the interests of a sister republic, it cannot 
be supposed that the instrument itself, which was the 
result of mutual concessions, and the adjustment of 
opposing national interests, should quiet the public 
mind, subjected to the despotism of passion and 
prejudice. Noisy and violent declamation against the 
treaty abounded in every part of the United States, 
and few were found, who, unbiassed by national inte- 
rest, coolly and impartially decided upon its merits. 

Public meetings were holden in all the large towns, 
and intemperate addresses denouncing the treaty 
voted, which were published in the newspapers before 
they were presented to the President. 

Pamphlets were also put into circulation, written 
with ingenuity and calculated to increase the preju- 
dices against this national transaction, on the pretence 
that it was a sacrifice of the interests of France in 
favor of Great Britain. 

These violent movements deeply affected the Presi- 
dent, but they did not change his determination. His 
letters, and the general tenor of his conduct at this 
period, discover the -firmness and independence with 
which he was prepared to resist every attempt 
unsuitably to bias the Executive. His greatest appre- 
hensions on this occasion were that France would 
avail herself of these popular commotions, either to 
force the Government of the United States into her 
measures, or to embarrass the execution of the treaty, 
and to render its stipulations in favor of American 
commerce ineffectual. In a letter of the 29th of July, 



I795-] LIFE 0F WASHINGTON. ^ 

written to the Secretary of State, after mentioning 
that the state of the country required the utmost cir- 
cumspection, he added : — 

" I have never since I have been in the administration 
of the Government, seen a crisis which, in my opinion, 
has been so pregnant with interesting events, nor one 
from which more is to be apprehended, whether 
viewed on the one side or the other. From New 
York there is, and I am told will further be, a counter 
current ; but how formidable it may appear, I know 
not. If the same does not take place at Boston and 
other towns, it will afford but too strong evidence 
that the opposition is in a manner universal, and 
would make the ratification a very serious business 
indeed. But as it respects the French, even counter 
resolutions would, for the reasons I have already men- 
tioned, do little more than weaken, in a small degree, 
the effect the other side would have." In a letter to 
the Secretary, of the 31st of July, having mentioned 
his determination to return to Philadelphia, and stated 
the firmness and wisdom necessary to meet the crisis, 
he proceeded : " There is too much reason to believe, 
from the pains that have been taken before, at, and 
since the advice of the Senate respecting the treaty, 
that the prejudices against it are more extensive than 
is generally imagined. How should it be otherwise, 
when no stone has been left unturned that could im- 
press on the mind of the people the most errant 
misrepresentation of facts ; that their rights have not 
only been neglected, but absolutely sold ; that there 
are no reciprocal advantages in the treaty ; that the 
benefits are all on the side of Great Britain ; and 
what seems to have had more weight with them than 
all the rest, and has been most pressed ; that the 



4 T 4 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1795. 

treaty is made with the design to oppress the French 
republic, in open violation of our treaty with that 
nation, and contrary too to every principle of gratitude 
and sound policy. In time, when passion shall have 
yielded to sober reason the current may possibly 
turn ; but in the mean while, this government in re- 
lation to France and England may be compared to a 
ship between Scylla and Charybdis. If the treaty is 
ratified, the partisans of the French, or rather of war 
and confusion, will excite them to hostile measures, 
or at least to unfriendly sentiments ; if it is not, there 
is no foreseeing all the consequences that may follow 
as it respects Great Britain. 

" It is not to be inferred from hence, that I am, or 
shall be disposed to quit the ground I have taken, un- 
less circumstances more imperious than have yet 
come to my knowledge, should compel it ; for there 
is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth, and 
to pursue it steadily. But these things are men- 
tioned to show that a close investigation of the subject 
is more than ever necessary. Every step should be 
explored before it is taken, and every word weighed 
before it- is uttered or delivered in writing." In a 
subsequent letter, in which he mentioned the increas- 
ing hostility to the treaty, he added : " All these things 
do not shake my determination with respect to the 
proposed ratification ; nor will they, unless something 
more imperious and unknown to me should, in the 
opinion of yourself and the gentleman with you, make 
it advisable for me to pause. 

On the nth of August, the President arrived at 
Philadelphia, and on the next day he brought before 
the Cabinet the question respcting the immediate 
ratification of the treaty. The Secretary of State ad- 



I795-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 415 

vised to the postponement of this measure, until the 
orders of the British should be revoked. The other 
members of the Cabinet voted for an immediate rati- 
fication with a strong memorial against those orders. 
With this advice the President closed. The orders 
were recalled, and the ratifications of the treaty ex- 
changed. 

The President was probably led to this immediate 
ratification of the treaty by the popular violence 
which was raised against it in every part of the 
United States. He conceived that it was necessary, 
either at once to arrest its progress, or ultimately to 
yield to its force. The event proved the soundness 
of his judgment and the influence of his character. 
Violent opposition ceased. Reflection and experience 
convinced discerning men, that the treaty was a wise 
and salutary measure. 

On the 19th of August, 1795, Mr. Randolph re- 
signed his office as Secretary of State. He had been 
strongly suspected of breach of trust, and having com- 
mitted the honor and interest of his country in his 
communications with the French minister to enable 
him, as he affirmed, to vindicate himself, he requested 
the sight of a confidental letter which the President 
had written to him, and which he had left in the of- 
fice. His avowed purpose was to publish this, with 
other documents, to show that he had been disgraced 
on account of his attachment to France and liberty. 
" I have directed," replied the President, " that you 
should have the inspection of my letter of the 22d of 
July agreeably to your request ; and you are at full 
liberty to publish without reserve any or every private 
and confidential letter I ever wrote you ; nay more, 
every word I ever uttered to you or in your presence, 



4I 6 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1795. 

from whence you can derive any advantage in your 
vindication." Happy the ruler, who, in the conscious- 
ness of the purity of his intentions, can in times of 
political agitation thus address a suspected member 
of his council, who had been admitted to his unlimited 
confidence. 

Colonel Pickering was removed to the Department 
of State, and Mr. M 4 Henry appointed Secretary of 
War. By the death of Mr. Bradford, the office of At- 
torney-General became vacant, which was soon filled 
by Mr. Lee of Virginia. 

In the Autumn of 1795 a treaty was negotiated 
through the agency of Colonel Humphreys with the 
the Regency of Algiers, by which a number of Amer- 
ican citizens, who had been enslaved, were liberated. 

On opening the first session of the fourth Congress, 
December, 1795, the President congratulated the two 
houses on the prosperity of the nation. " I trust," 
said he, " I do not deceive myself while I indulge the 
persuasion that I have never met you at any period, 
when more than at the present, the situation of our 
public affairs has afforded just cause for mutual con- 
gratulation ; and for inviting you to join with me in 
profound gratitude to the Author of all good for the 
numerous and extraordinary blessings we enjoy." 
Then making a brief statement of the situation of the 
United States in their foreign relations, he thus pro- 
ceeded : — - 

" This interesting summary of our affairs, with re- 
gard to the powers between whom and the United 
States controversies have subsisted ; and with regard 
also to our Indian neighbors with whom we have 
been in a state of enmity or misunderstanding, opens 
a wide field for consoling and gratifying reflections. 



1795] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 4I y 

If by prudence and moderation on eveiy side, the ex- 
tinguishment of all the causes of external discord 
which have heretofore menaced our tranquillity, on 
terms compatible with our national faith and honor, 
shall be the happy result, how firm and how precious 
a foundation will have been laid for accelerating, ma- 
turing, and establishing the prosperity of our country. ,, 

Recommending a number of national objects to the 
attention of the Legislature, the speech was con- 
cluded in the following manner : — 

" Temperate discussion of the important subjects 
that may arise in the course of the session, and mutual 
forbearance where there is a difference in opinion, 
are too obvious and necessary for the peace, happi- 
ness, and welfare of our country, to need any recom- 
mendation of mine." 

The answer of the Senate was in their usual cor- 
dial and respectful manner. 

A majority of the House of Representatives of this 
Congress was of the party opposed to the general ad- 
ministration of the Government. To this party the 
British treaty was offensive ; and their feelings on 
this subject had an influence on their reply to the 
President's speech. 

The committee reported an answer, which con- 
tained this clause : " That the confidence of his fellow- 
citizens in the Chief Magistrate remained undimin- 
ished." It was moved to strike out this clause because 
it contained an untruth. In the animated debate that 
ensued, the friends of the President supported the 
clause, and maintained with zeal, that the confidence 
of the American citizens in him had suffered no dimi- 
nution ; the advocates of the motion with pertinacity 
averred that by a recent transaction the confidence of 



4I 8 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1795. 

the people in the President was diminished ; and sev- 
eral of the speakers declared that their own confidence 
in him was lessened. 

To prevent a vote of the House to expunge the 
clause, it was moved and carried to recommit the an- 
swer. In the second report, this clause was in such a 
manner modified as to pass without objection. 

Mr. Monroe reached Paris soon after the fall of 
Robespierre, his reception as the American minister 
was public, and on the occasion he gave the con- 
vention the most positive assurances of the fervent 
attachment of the American people to the interest of 
France. 

The Committee of Safety of France had pre- 
viously written to the American Congress, and the 
Executive of the Federal Government being the con- 
stituted organ of foreign intercourse, the Senate and 
House of Representatives had, by their resolves, 
transmitted this letter to the President with a request, 
that he would in a respectful answer express their 
friendly disposition towards the French republic. 
Accordingly the Secretary of State addressed two 
letters to the Committee of Safety, in the name of 
each branch of the Legislature. These Mr. Monroe 
conveyed, and delivered with his own credentials to 
the President of the convention. 

The communications of the American minister 
were received with expressions of high gratification, 
and the convention decreed that the flags of France 
and America should be united, and suspended in their 
hall, as an emblem of the eternal union and friendship 
of the two republics* 

Colonel Monroe, to reciprocate this act of fra- 
ternity, requested the convention to accept from him 



1796] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 419 

the American flag, as evidence of his own sensibility, 
and as a token of the satisfaction with which his 
country would improve every opportunity to promote 
the union of the two nations. 

Mr. Adet, the successor of Mr. Fauchet, arrived at 
Philadelphia in the summer of 1795, and brought 
with him the flag of France as a compliment from the 
convention to Congress, and a letter from the Com- 
mittee of Safety to this body. He made no mention 
to the President of this present until December, 
intending to present it directly to Congress, and to 
avail himself of the opportunity to address that body. 
The President and the heads of departments, per- 
ceiving his intention to make a bridge of the Execu- 
tive to open a direct communication with the popular 
branch of Congress, and apprehending evil from it, 
with address defeated the intriguing scheme. They 
directed that the flag and the letter should be placed 
in the hands of the President, and by him presented 
to Congress. The 1st of January, 1796, was ap- 
pointed as the time on which the President would 
receive them. Mr. Adet on this occasion addressed 
him in the impassioned language of his countrymen. 
He represented France as exerting herself in defence 
of the liberty of mankind. 

" Assimilated to, or rather identified with free 
people by the form of her government, she saw in 
them," he observed, "only friends and brothers. 
Long accustomed to regard the American people as 
her most laithful allies, she sought to draw closer the 
ties already tormed in the fields of America, under 
the auspices of victory, over the ruins of tyranny." 

To answer this speech was a delicate task. Ani- 
mated expressions of attachment and friendship for 



4 20 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796. 

France were expected ; and it was improper for the 
Executive of a neutral nation to show partiality or 
prejudice towards belligerent powers. 

The following was the reply of the President : — 
" Born, sir, in a land of liberty ; having early 
learned its value ; having engaged in a perilous con- 
flict to defend it ; having, in a word, devoted the best 
years of my life to secure its permanent establishment 
in my own country ; my anxious recollections, my 
sympathetic feelings, and my best wishes are irresist- 
ibly attracted, whensoever, in any country, I see an 
oppressed nation unfurl the banners of freedom. 
But above all, the events of the French revolution 
have produced the deepest solicitude, as well as the 
highest admiration. To call your nation brave, were 
to pronounce but common praise. Wonderful people ! 
Ages to come will read with astonishment the history 
of your brilliant exploits. I rejoice that the period of 
your toils and of your immense sacrifices is approach- 
ing. I rejoice that the interesting revolutionary 
movements of so many years have issued in the forma- 
tion of a Constitution designed to give permanency 
to the great object for which you have contended. I 
rejoice that liberty, which you have so long embraced 
with enthusiasm — liberty, of which you have been the 
invincible defenders, now finds an asylum in the 
bosom of a regularly organized government ; a govern- 
ment which, being formed to secure the happiness of 
the French people, corresponds with the ardent 
wishes of my heart, while it gratifies the pride of 
every citizen of the United States by its resemblance 
to their own. On these glorious events, accept, sir, 
my sincere congratulations, 

" In delivering to you these sentiments, I express 



1793-7 1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 421 

not my own feelings only, but those of my fellow-citi- 
zens in relation to the commencement, the progress 
and the issue of the French revolution ; and they will 
certainly join with me in purest wishes to the Su- 
preme Being, that the citizens of our sister republic, 
our magnanimous allies, may soon enjoy in peace that 
liberty which they have purchased at so great a price, 
and all the happiness that liberty can bestow. 

" I receive, sir, with lively sensibility, the symbol 
of the triumphs, and of the enfranchisements of your 
nation, the colors of France, which you have now 
presented to the United States. The transaction will 
be announced in Congress, and the colors will be de- 
posited with the archives of the United States, which 
are at once the evidence and the memorials of their 
freedom and independence ; may these be perpetual, 
and may the friendship of the two republics be com- 
mensurate with their existence." 

The address of the French minister, the reply of 
the President, the flag of France, and the letter of the 
Committee of Safety, were all transmitted by the Pres- 
ident to Congress. 

In February, 1796, the treaty was returned in the 
form recommended by the Senate, and ratified by his 
Britannic Majesty; and on the last of that month, 
the President issued his proclamation- stating its ra- 
tification, and declaring it to be the law of the land. 

The predominant party in the House of Repre- 
sentatives expressed surprise, that this proclamation 
should be issued before the sense of the House was 
taken on the subject ; as they denied the power of the 
President and Senate to complete a treaty without 
their sanction. In March a resolution passed, re- 
questing the President " to lay before the House a 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1793-7. 



copy of the instructions to the Minister of the United 
States, who negotiated the treaty with the King 
of Great Britain, communicated by his message of the 
first of March, together with the correspondence and 
other documents relative to the said treaty ; excepting 
such of the said papers as any existing negotiation 
may render improper to be disclosed." 

This resolve placed the President in a situation of 
high responsibility. He knew that the majority of 
the House entertained the opinion that a treaty was 
not valid until they had acted upon it. To oppose, in 
a government constituted like that of the United 
States, the popular branch of the Legislature would 
be attended with hazard, and subject him to much 
censure and abuse ; but considerations of this nature 
make but weak impressions on a mind supremely 
solicitous to promote the public interest. 

Upon the most mature deliberation, the President 
conceived, that to grant this request of the House, 
would establish a false and dangerous principle in the 
diplomatic transactions of the nation, and he gave the 
following answer to their request : — 

" Gentlemen of the House of Representatives, 

" With the utmost attention I have considered your 
resolution of the 24th instant, requesting me to lay 
before your House a copy of the instructions to the 
minister of the United States, who negotiated the 
treaty with the King of Great Britain, together with 
the correspondence and other documents relative to 
that treaty, excepting such of the said papers as any 
existing negotiation may render improper to be dis- 
closed. 



I793-7-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 423 

" In deliberating upon this subject, it was impos- 
sible for me to lose sight of the principle which some 
have avowed in its discussion, or to avoid extending 
my views to the consequences which must flow from 
the admission of that principle. 

" I trust that no part of my conduct has ever indi- 
cated a disposition to withhold any information which 
the constitution has enjoined it upon the President as 
a duty to give, or which could be required of him by 
either house of Congress as a right ; and with truth I 
affirm, that it has been, and will continue to be, while 
I have the honor to preside in the Government, 
my constant endeavor to harmonize with the other 
branches thereof, as far as the trust delegated to me 
by the people of the United States, and my sense of 
the obligation it imposes, to preserve, protect, and 
defend the constitution, will permit. 

" The nature of foreign negotiations require caution, 
and their success must often depend on secrecy; and 
even when brought to a conclusion, a full disclosure 
of all the measures, demands, or eventual concessions 
which may have been proposed or contemplated, 
would be extremely impolitic ; for this might have a 
pernicious influence on future negotiations, or produce 
immediate inconveniences, perhaps danger and mis- 
chief to other persons. The necessity of such caution 
and secrecy was one cogent reason for vesting the 
power of making treaties in the President, with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, the principle on 
which that body was formed, confining it to a small 
number of members. 

" To admit then a right in the House of Repre- 
sentatives to demand, and to have as a matter of 
course, all the papers respecting a negotiation with a 



4 2 4 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1793-7. 

foreign power, would be to establish a dangerous 
precedent. 

" It does not occur that the inspection of the papers 
asked for can be relative to any purpose under the 
cognizance of the House of Representatives, except 
that of an impeachment, which the resolution has not 
expressed. I repeat that I have no disposition to with- 
hold any information which the duty of my station 
will permit, or the public good shall require to be dis- 
closed ; and in fact all the papers affecting the nego- 
tiation with Great Britain were laid before the Senate 
when the treaty itself was communicated for their 
consideration and advice. 

" The course which the debate has taken on the 
resolution of the House, leads to some observations 
on the mode of making treaties under the constitution 
of the United States. 

" Having been a member of the general convention, 
and knowing the principles on which the constitution 
was formed, I have ever entertained but one opinion 
upon this subject ; and from the first establishment 
of the Government to this moment my conduct has 
exemplified that opinion. That the power of making 
treaties is exclusively vested in the President, by and 
with the consent of the Senate, provided two-thirds 
of the senators present concur ; and that every treaty 
so made and promulgated thenceforward becomes the 
law of the land. It is thus that the treaty-making 
power has been understood by foreign nations ; and 
in all the treaties made with them, we have declared, 
and they have believed, that when ratified by the 
President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
they became obligatory. In this construction of the 
constitution every House of Representatives has here- 



1 793-7-] LIFE 0F WASHINGTON. 425 

tofore acquiesced, and until the present time not a 
doubt or suspicion has appeared, to my knowledge, 
that this construction was not the true one. Nay, 
they have more than acquiesced ; for until now, with- 
out controverting the obligations of such treaties, 
they have made all the requisite provisions for carry- 
ing them into effect. 

"There is also reason to believe that this construc- 
tion agrees with the opinions entertained by the State 
conventions, w r hen they were deliberating on the con- 
stitution ; especially by those who objected to it, 
because there was not required in commercial treaties 
the consent of two-thirds of the whole number of the 
members of the Senate, instead of two-thirds of the 
senators present ; and because in treaties respecting 
territorial, and certain other rights and claims, the 
concurrence of three-fourths of the whole number of 
the members of both houses respectively was not 
made necessary. 

" It is a fact declared by the general convention, 
and universally understood, that the constitution of 
the United States was the result of a spirit of amity 
and mutual concession. And it is well known, that 
under this influence the smaller States were admitted 
to an equal representation in the Senate with the 
larger States ; and that this branch of the Govern- 
ment was invested with great powers ; for on the 
equal participation of those powers the sovereignty 
and political safety of the smaller States were deemed 
essentially to depend. 

" If other proofs than these and the plain letter of 
the constitution "itself be necessary to ascertain the 
point under consideration, they may be found in the 
journals of the general convention which 1 have de- 



426 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1793-7 

posited in the office of the Department of State. In 
these journals it will appear that a proposition was 
made, that no treaty should be binding on the United 
States which was not ratified by a law ; and that the 
proposition was explicitly rejected. 

"As therefore it is perfectly clear to my under- 
standing that the assent of the House of Representa- 
tives is not necessary 10 the validity of a treaty ; as 
the treaty with Great Britain exhibits in itself all the 
objects requiring legislative provision ; and on these 
the papers called for can throw no light ; and as it is 
essential to the due administration of the Government 
that the boundaries fixed by the constitution between 
the different departments should be preserved ; a just 
regard to the constitution, and to the duty of my 
office, under all the circumstances of this case, forbid 
a compliance with your request." 

A resolution moved in the House to make the 
necessary appropriations to carry the British treaty 
into effect excited among the members the strongest 
emotions of human nature, and gave rise to speeches 
highly argumentative, eloquent, and animated. The 
debate was protracted until the people assumed the 
subject in their respective corporations ; meetings 
were holden ; the strength of parties was fully tried, 
and it clearly appeared that the great majority were 
disposed to rally around the Executive. Innumerable 
petitions were presented to Congress, praying them 
to make the requisite appropriations. 

Unwilling to take upon themselves the conse- 
quences of resisting the public will, Congress made 
the appropriations. 

It was not in the administration of the Government 
only, that General Washington found it necessary to 



1793-7-1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 42 ; 

exercise great caution and prudence. The convulsions 
of France and the political divisions of the United 
States, rendered it expedient that he should be cir- 
cumspect in his personal friendships, and in the ex- 
ercise of benevolent offices towards individual char- 
acters. 

A sincere friendship had been formed between him 
and the Marquis La Fayette. This friendship was 
not disturbed by those vicissitudes in France, which 
occasioned the exile and foreign imprisonment of that 
nobleman. These rather increased the sensibility, 
and strengthened the attachment of the President 
towards the unfortunate Marquis. But on account of 
the state of parties in France and America, inter- 
positions in his favor were privately made. The 
American ministers at foreign courts were directed 
in an unofficial manner to exert themselves to obtain 
his liberation, or to render his confinement less op- 
pressive. A confidential agent was sent to Berlin 
to solicit his liberty ; but before he reached his place 
of destination, the King of Prussia had surrendered 
the Marquis to the Emperor of Germany. Mr. Pinck- 
ney, then at the Court of London, was directed to 
intimate the wishes of the President to the Aus- 
trian minister at that court, and to solicit the in- 
fluence of the British Cabinet in favor of the illus- 
trious prisoner. Disappointed in the expected me- 
diation of Great Britain, the President addressed the 
following letter immediately to the Emperor of Ger- 
many : — 

"It will readily occur to your Majesty that occa- 
sions may sometimes exist, on which official consider- 
ations would constrain the chief of a nation to be 
silent and passive in relation even to objects which 



42 8 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1793-7- 

affect his sensibility, and claim his interposition as a 
man. Finding myself precisely in this situation at 
present, I take the liberty of writing this private letter 
to your Majesty, being persuaded that my motives will 
also be my apology for it. 

" In common with the people of this country, I re-, 
tain a strong and cordial sense of the services ren. 
dered to them by the Marquis La Fayette ; and my 
friendship for him has been constant and sincere. 
It is natural, therefore, that I should sympathize with 
him and his family in their misfortunes, and endea- 
vor to mitigate the calamities they experience, among 
which his present confinement is not the least dis- 
tressing. 

" I forbear to enlarge on this delicate subject. Per. 
mit me only to submit to your Majesty's consideration, 
whether his long imprisonment, and the confiscation 
of his estate, and the indigence and dispersion of his 
family, and the painful anxieties incident to all those 
circumstances, do not form an assemblage of suffer- 
ings, which recommend him to the mediation of 
humanity ? Allow me, sir, on this occasion, to be its 
organ ; and to entreat that he may be permitted to 
come to this country on such conditions, and under 
such restrictions as your Majesty may think it expe- 
dient to prescribe. 

" As it is a maxim with me not to ask, what under 
similar circumstances I would not grant, your Maj- 
esty will do me the justice to believe, that this request 
appears to me to correspond with those great princi- 
ples of magnanimity and wisdom, which form the basis 
of sound policy and durable glory." 

This letter was sent to Mr. Pinckney, and was by 
him transmitted through the Austrian minister to the 



1793-7 ] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 429 

Emperor. From this period the Marquis was treated 
with more mildness, and was soon after discharged 
from his confinement ; but what influence the Presi- 
dent's letter had on these measures is not known. 

In 1795, George Washington Motier La Fayette, 
the son of the Marquis La Fayette, made his escape 
from France, and arrived with his tutor at Boston. 
He immediately by letter communicated his situation 
to General Washington, and solicited his advice and 
patronage. The mother of young Fayette was then 
in France, and the President was surrounded by 
Frenchmen, the agents of friends of the administra- 
tion, which had denounced the Marquis. These men 
were ready to denounce every act of favor done to a 
man who was proscribed by the French Government. 
From regard to the safety of that lady, and from pru- 
dential considerations in respect to his own official 
character, he thought it unadvisable to invite him 
immediately to the seat of government, and publicly 
to espouse his interest. But he wrote confidentially 
to a friend in the neighborhood of Boston, requesting 
him to visit the young gentleman, to acquaint him 
with the reason which rendered it inexpedient that 
he should be invited into the President's family, and, 
to adopt the language of the letter, to " administer 
all the consolation that he can derive from the most 
unequivocal assurances of my standing in the place, 
and becoming to him a father, friend, protector, and sup- 
porter. 

" Considering how important it is to avoid idleness 
and dissipation — to improve his mind — and to give 
him all the advantages which education can bestow, 
my opinion and my advice to him is (if he is qualified 
foi admission that he should enter as a student at the 



4 3o LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1793-7 

University in Cambridge ; although it should be for a 
short time only. The expense of which, as also for 
every other means for his support, I will pay ; and 
now do authorize you, my dear sir, to draw upon me 
accordingly. And if it be desired that his tutor should 
accompany him to the University, any expense that 
he shall incur for the purpose, shall be borne by me 
in like manner." 

The tutor of young Fayette thought he might with 
more advantage pursue his studies in private, and 
therefore he did not enter the University. 

The members of Congress, in opposition to the 
measures of the administration, obtained the knowl- 
edge of the arrival of a son of the Marquis La Fayette 
in some part of America. Expecting perhaps that 
the President had maintained a cold and unfeeling 
reserve towards him, they instituted an inquiry into 
his situation ; and when they discovered that the 
President had extended towards young Fayette the 
assistance and the protection of a friend and a father 
they dropped the subject. 

This young gentleman remained for a short time in 
the United States ; returning to France, he distin- 
guished himself in the army of Bonaparte ; but the 
usual promotions have been denied him. 



1796-9] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



431 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The President calumniated— His letter to Mr. Jefferson— State- 
ment of the Secretary of the Treasury — The French Direc- 
tory's attempt to control the American Government — Review 
of the transactions with France— The President declares his 
resolution to retire from Public Life — Meets Congress for the 
last Time — Describes the Letters that had been forged— At- 
tends the Inauguration of Mr. Adams — Retires to Mount 
Vernon — Threatening Attitude of France — General Wash- 

• ington appointed Commander-in-Chief of the American 
Forces — His opinion of Public Measures-His Indisposition 
and Death — Conclusion. 

1796. The friends of General Washington knew 
that it was his intention to decline being a candidate 
at the third election of President, and this was ex- 
pected by the public. Warm solicitations were used 
to dissuade him from the intention, but his determi- 
nation was fixed ; and nothing could change it except- 
ing a crisis in the affairs of his country, which would 
render retirement inconsistent with his duty, and de- 
rogatory to his character. 

In the possibility of such an event, his friends pre- 
vailed with him to withhold the public expression of 
his design until it should become necessary to direct 
the attention of the community to a successor. This 
silence alarmed the party opposed to his administra- 
tion. His personal influence at the head of govern- 
ment, they conceived, could alone defeat their plans 
and prevent a revolution in the National Council. 
Since the ratification of the British treaty, they had 
laid aside the decorous language and exterior respect, 



432 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

which they had until that period observed towards 
the President, and on this occasion they with the ut- 
most virulence assailed his character. His merit as a 
soldier, and his wisdom and patriotism as a statesman, 
were denied ; and even his honor and honesty as a 
man were brought into o A uestion. Letters, forged and 
published in 1776, to injure his reputation as the Gen- 
eral in the revolutionary war, were at this time repub- 
lished as genuine, to excite prejudice against him. 
The queries which he had confidentially proposed to 
the deliberation of his Cabinet, were laid before the 
public, with comments designed to show that they 
indicated a deadly hostility to France. The queries 
could have come before the public only by a breach 
of confidence in some one of the Cabinet. Mr. Jeffer- 
son was disposed to prevent any suspicion from rest- 
ing on the mind of General Washington, that he was 
the dishonorable individual, and for this purpose he 
addressed a letter to him, to which the President gave 
the following reply : — 

" If I had entertained any suspicion before, that the 
queries which have been published in Bache's paper, 
proceeded from you, the assurances you have given of 
the contrary would have removed them ; but the truth 
is I harbored none. I am at no loss to conjecture 
from what source they flowed, through what channel 
they were conveyed, nor for what purpose they and 
similar publications appear. 

" As you have mentioned the subject yourself, it 
would not be frank, candid, or friendly, to conceal that 
your conduct has been represented as derogating from 
that opinion I conceived you entertained of me ; that 
to your particular friends and connections you have 
described, and they have denounced me, as a person 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 433 

binder dangerous influence, and that if I would listen 
more to some other opinions, all would be well. My 
answer has invariably been, that I had never discov- 
ered anything in the conduct of Mr. Jefferson to 
raise suspicions in my mind of his sincerity ; that if 
he would retrace my public conduct while he was in 
the administration, abundant proofs would occur to 
him, that truth and right decisions were the sole ob- 
jects of my pursuit ; that there were as many instances 
within his own knowledge, of my having decided 
against as in favor of the person evidently alluded to ; 
and moreover, that I was no believer in the infalli- 
bility of the politics or measures of any man living. 
In short, that I was no party man myself, and that 
the first wish of my heart was, if parties did exist, to 
reconcile them. 

" To this I may add, and very truly, that until the 
last year or two, I had no conception that parties 
would, or even could go the lengths I have been wit- 
ness to ; nor did I believe until lately, that it was 
within the bounds of probability, hardly within those 
of possibility, that while I was using my utmost exer- 
tions to establish a national character of our own, in- 
dependent, as far as our obligations and justice would 
permit, of every nation of the earth ; and wished by 
steering a steady course to preserve this country from 
the horrors of a desolating war, I should be accused 
of being the enemy of one nation, and subject to the 
influence of another ; and to prove it, that every act 
of my administration would be tortured, and the 
grossest and most insidious misrepresentations of them 
be made, by giving one side only of a subject, and that, 
too, in such exaggerated and indecent terms as could 

28 



434 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

scarcely be applied to a Nero — to a notorious de- 
faulter — or even to a common pickpocket. 

" But enough of this. I have already gone further 
in the expression of my feelings than I intended. M 

General Washington was also atrociously charged 
with having unlawfully drawn money from the public 
treasury for his private use. This charge was sup- 
ported by extracts from the books of the National 
Treasury, and his enemies boasted that they had dis- 
covered an indelible blemish in his character ; but their 
triumph was only for a moment. The Secretary of 
the Treasury published a statement of facts, by which 
it clearly appeared that the money drawn by the orders 
of the President had in no year exceeded the appro- 
priations for his salary. He received no public money 
but for the support of his family, in some quarters of 
the year the receipts had overrun the amount due, and 
in others fallen short ; and that the President himself 
had no concern in the transaction, the business hav- 
ing been conducted by a gentleman who superintended 
his household. The public frowned his accusers into 
silence, and the weapon levelled against his reputation 
fell innoxious to the ground. 

The government of France was too w r ell acquainted 
with the number and the temper of their friends in 
the United States, to relinquish the plan formed to ob- 
tain a controlling influence in the administration of 
American affairs. Mr. Fauchet had made formal 
complaints against the measures of President Wash- 
ington. For a time his remonstrances were made in 
the language of decency and respect ; but at the close 
of his ministry, he descended to the reproachful man- 
ner of his predecessor. Mr. Adet arrived at Phila- 
delphia, while the Senate were deliberating on the 



1796-9.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON 435 

British treaty, and fall communications were made to 
him on the subject. Colonel Monroe was also fur- 
nished with documents, calculated to remove uneasi- 
ness from the minds of the French Directory respect- 
ing this transaction. But instead of communicating 
to the Directory the documents and reasonings of his 
Government, while they were deliberating on this 
subject, and before they had committed themselves 
by any public act, he reserved them as answers to 
complaints, that the government of France might 
make against the treaty with Great Britain. 

The President w T ell knew that France had no just 
ground of complaint against the United States ; but 
he was apprehensive that her disappointment at the 
adjustment of a controversy which had long menaced 
war between Great Britain and America, would induce 
her to some act of violence. He therefore deemed it 
highly important, that there should be a minister at 
Paris, who fully entered into the views of the Admin- 
istration. Not being perfectly satisfied with Mr. 
Monroe, he recalled him, and appointed as his suc- 
cessor, General Charles Cotesworth Pickney. The 
French having complained of most of the acts of the 
American Government, in relation to the powers at 
war, by order of the President these acts were care- 
fully reviewed, a fair and minute detail of all points of 
difference between the two nations given, and the 
measures of the administration defended by un- 
answerable arguments. Upon this lucid and conclu- 
sive vindication of the measures of the administration, 
the President relied to remove jealousy from the 
minds of the Directory, and restore the harmony of 
the two nations ; but unhappily the party at home 
had taken their ground, and were not by any consid- 



43 6 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1776-9; 

erations to be moved from it, and supported by these, 
the French Directory were not disposed to recede. 

At the near approach of the period for the election 
of a President, it fully appeared, that General Wash- 
ington had not lost his hold on the affections and 
confidence of his countrymen. The public sentiment 
everywhere indicated a determination to choose no 
man an elector on whom implicit confidence could 
not be placed to give his suffrage for General Wash- 
ington ; and it was satisfactorily ascertained, that 
should the General consent to be a candidate, he 
would for the third time be unanimously chosen Pres- 
ident of the United States. 

In this state of the public mind, in the month of 
September he published the following address : — 

" Friends and fellow-citizens : 

" The period for a new election of a citizen to ad- 
minister the Executive Government of the United 
States being not far distant, and the time actually 
arrived, when your thoughts must be employed in 
designating the person who is to be clothed with that 
important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as 
it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the 
public voice, that I should now apprise you of the 
resolution I have formed, to decline being considered 
among the number of those out of whom a choice is 
to be made. 

" I beg you, at the same time, to do me the justice 
to be assured, that this resolution has not been taken 
without a strict regard to all the considerations apper- 
taining to the relation which binds a dutiful citizen to 
his country ; and that, in withdrawing the tender of 
service, which silence in my situation might imply, 



'796-9-1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 437 

I am inflenced by no diminution of zeal for your future 
interest ; no deficiency of grateful respect for your 
past kindness ; but am supported by a full conviction 
that the step is compatible with both. 

" The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in 
the office to which your suffrages have twice called 
me, have been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to the 
opinion of duty, and to a deference for what appeared 
to be your desire. I constantly hoped that it would 
have been much earlier in my power, consistently with 
motives which I was not at liberty to disregard, to 
return to that retirement from which I had been 
reluctantly drawn. The strength of my inclination to 
do this, previous to the last election, had even led to 
the preparation of an address to declare it to you , but 
mature reflection on the then perplexed and critical 
posture of our affairs with foreign nations, and the 
unanimous advice of persons entitled to my confidence, 
impelled me to abandon the idea. 

" I rejoice that the state of your concerns, external 
as well as internal, no longer renders the pursuit of 
inclination incompatible with the sentiment of duty or 
propriety; and am persuaded whatever partiality may 
be retained for my services, that in the present cir- 
cumstances of our country, you will not disapprove 
my determination to retire 

"The impressions with which I first undertook the 
arduous trust were explained on the proper occasion. 
In the discharge of this trust, I will only say, that I 
have, with good intentions, contributed towards the 
organization and administration of the Government, 
the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment 
was capable. Not unconscious, in the outset, of the 
inferiority of my qualifications, experience in my own 



438 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 

eyes, perhaps still more in the eyes of others, has 
strengthened the motives to diffidence of myself ; and 
every day the increasing weight of years admonishes 
me more and more, that the shade of retirement is as 
necessary to me as it will be welcome. Satisfied that 
if any circumstances have given peculiar value to my 
services, they were temporary, I have the consola- 
tion to believe, that while choice and prudence invite 
me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not 
forbid it. 

" In looking forward to the moment, which is to 
terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do 
not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment 
of that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved 
country, for the many honors it has conferred upon 
me, still more for the steadfast confidence with which 
it has supported me, and for the opportunities I have 
thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attach- 
ment, by services faithful and persevering, though in 
usefulness unequal to my zeal. If benefits have 
resulted to our country from these services, let it 
always be remembered to your praise, and as an in 
structive example in our annals, that under circum- 
stances in which the passions, agitated in every direa 
tion, were liable to mislead, amidst appearances some- 
times dubious — vicissitudes of fortune often discour- 
aging — in situations, in which, not unfrequently, 
want of success has countenanced the spirit of criti- 
cism — the constancy of your support was the essen- 
tial prop of the efforts, and a guarantee of the plans by 
which they were effected. Profoundly penetrated with 
this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave, as a 
strong incitement to unceasing vows, that Heaven may 
continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence 



1796-9.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 439 

— that your union and brotherly affection may be per- 
petual — that the free constitution, which is the work 
of your hands, may be sacredly maintained — that its 
administration, in every department, may be stamped 
with wisdom and virtue— that, in fine, the happiness 
of the people of these States, under the auspices of 
liberty, may be made complete, by so careful a preser- 
vation, and so prudent a use of this blessing, as will 
acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the 
applause, the affection, and the adoption, of every 
nation which is yet a stranger to it. 

" Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude 
for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, 
and the apprehension of danger natural to that solici- 
tude, urge me on an occasion like the present to offer 
to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend to 
your frequent review, some sentiments which are the 
result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observa- 
tion, and which appear to me all important to the 
permanency of your felicity as a people. These will be 
offered to you with the more freedom, as you can only 
see in them the disinterested warnings of a parting 
friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to 
bias his counsels. Nor can I forget, as an encourage- 
ment to it, your indulgent reception of my sentiments 
on a former and not dissimilar occasion. 

" Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every 
ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine 
is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment. 

" The unity of government which constitutes you 
one people is also dear to you. It is justly so, for it 
is a main pillar in the edifice of your real indepen- 
dence ; the support of your tranquillity at home ; your 
peace abroad ; of your safety ; of your prosperity ; of 



4 4 o LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

that very liberty which you so highly prize. But, as 
it is easy to foresee, that from different causes and 
from different quarters, much pains will be taken, 
many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the 
conviction of this truth ; as this is the point in your 
political fortress against which the batteries of internal 
and external enemies will be most constantly and ac- 
tively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed : 
it is of infinite moment that you should properly esti- 
mate the immense value of your national union to 
your collective and individual happiness ; that you 
should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable 
attachment to it ; accustoming yourselves to think and 
speak of it, as of the palladium of your political safety 
and prosperity ; watching for its preservation with 
jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may sug- 
gest even a suspicion that it can, in any event, be 
abandoned ; and indignantly frowning upon the first 
dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of 
our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred 
ties which now link together the various parts. 

" For this you have every inducement of sympathy 
and interest. Citizens by birth or choice, of a com- 
mon country, that country has a right to concentrate 
your affections. The name of American, which be- 
longs to you, in your national capacity, must always 
exalt the just pride of patriotism, more than any ap- 
pellation derived from local discriminations. With 
slight shades of difference you have the same religion, 
manners, habits, and political principles. You have 
in a common cause fought and triumphed together ; 
the independence and liberty you possess are the work 
of joint counsels, and joint efforts, of common dangers, 
sufferings, and successes. 



* 796-9.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 44I 

" But these considerations, however powerfully they 
address themselves to your sensibility, are greatly out- 
weighed by those which apply more immediately to 
your interest. Here every portion of our country 
finds the most commanding motives for carefully 
guarding and preserving the union of the whole. 

<l The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with 
the South, protected by the equal laws of a common 
government, finds in the productions of the latter, 
great additional resources of maritime and commer- 
cial enterprise, and precious materials of manufac- 
turing industry. The South, in the same intercourse, 
benefiting by the agency of the North, sees its agri- 
culture grow, and its commerce expand. Turning 
partly into its own channels the seamen of the North y 
it finds its particular navigation invigorated — and while 
it contributes, in different ways, to nourish and in- 
crease the general mass of the national navigation, it 
looks forward to the protection of a maritime strength, 
to which itself is unequally adapted. 

" The East, in like intercourse with the West, al- 
ready finds, and in the progressive improvement of 
interior communications by land and water, will more 
and more find a valuable vent for the commodities 
which it brings from abroad, or manufactures at home. 
The West derives from the East supplies requisite to 
its growth and comfort — and what is, perhaps, of still 
greater consequence, it must of necessity owe the 
secure enjoyment of indispensable outlets, for its own 
productions, to the weight, influence, and the future 
maritime strength of the Atlantic side of the Union, 
directed by an indissoluble community of interest as 
one nation. Any other tenure by which the West can 
hold this essential advantage, whether derived from 



442 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON 



D796-9. 



its own separate strength, or from an apostate and un- 
natural connection with any foreign power, must be in- 
trinsically precarious. 

" While then every part of our country thus feels 
an immediate and particular interest in union, all the 
parts combined cannot fail to find in the united mass 
of means and efforts, greater strength, greater re- 
source, proportionably greater security from external 
danger — a less frequent interruption of their peace by 
foreign nations, and what is of inestimable value, they 
must derive from union an exemption from those 
broils and wars between themselves, which so fre- 
quently afflict neighboring countries not tied together 
by the same government ; which their own rivalships 
alone would be sufficient to produce, but which op- 
posite foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues 
would stimulate and embitter. Hence, likewise, they 
will avoid, the necessity of those overgrown military 
establishments, which, under any form of government, 
are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be re 
garded as particularly hostile to republican liberty. 
In this sense it is that your Union ought to be con- 
sidered as the main prop of your liberty, and that the 
love of the one ought to endear to you the preserva- 
tion of the other. 

" These considerations speak a persuasive language 
to every reflecting and virtuous mind, and exhibit the 
continuance of the Union as a primary object of pal- 
triotic desire. Is there a doubt whether a common gov- 
ernment can embrace so large a sphere ? Let expe- 
rience solve it. To listen to mere speculation in such 
a case were criminal. We are authorized to hope 
that a proper organization of the whole, with the aux- 
iliary agency of governments for the respective subdi* 



1796-9.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 443 

visions, will afford a happy issue to the experiment. 
It is well worth a fair and full experiment. With such 
powerful and obvious motives to union, affecting all 
parts of our country, while experience shall not have 
demonstrated its impracticability, there will always be 
reason to distrust the patriotism of those, who, in any 
quarter, may endeavor to weaken its bands. 

" In contemplating the causes which may disturb 
our Union, it occurs as a matter of serious concern, 
that any ground should have been furnished for char- 
acterizing parties, by geographical discriminations, 
Northern and Southern, Atlantic and Western ; whence 
designing men may endeavor to excite a belief, that 
there is a real difference of local interests and views. 
One of the expedients of party to acquire influence 
within particular districts, is to misrepresent the opin- 
ions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield 
yourselves too much against the jealousies and heart- 
burnings which spring from these misrepresentations; 
they tend to render alien to each other those who ought 
to be bound together by fraternal affection. The in- 
habitants of our western country have lately had a use- 
ful lesson on this head : they have seen in the nego- 
tiation by the Executive, and in the unanimous satis- 
faction by the Senate, of the treaty with Spain, and in 
the universal satisfaction at that event throughout the 
United States, a decisive proof how unfounded were 
the suspicions propagated among them, of a policy in 
the general government and in the Atlantic States, un- 
friendly to their interests in regard to the Mississippi : 
they have been witnesses to the formation of two 
treaties, that with Great Britain and that with Spain, 
which secure to them everything they could desire, 
in respect to our foreign relations, towards confirming 



444 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



i>?;6-9. 



their prosperity. Will it not be their wisdom to rely 
for the preservation of these advantages on the Union, 
by which they were procured ? Will they not hence- 
forth be deaf to those advisers, if such there are, who 
would sever them irom their brethren, and connect 
them with aliens ? 

" To the efficacy and permanency of your Union, a 
government for the whole is indispensable. No alli- 
ances, however strict, between the parts, can be an ade- 
quate substitute. They must inevitably experience 
the infractions and interruptions which all alliances, 
in all times, have experienced. Sensible of this mo- 
mentous truth, you have improved upon your first es- 
say, by the adoption of a constitution of government 
better calculated than your former for an intimate 
union, and for the efficacious management of your 
common concerns. This Government, the offspring 
of our own choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted 
upon full investigation and mature deliberation, com- 
pletely free in its principles, in the distribution of its 
powers, uniting security with energy, and containing 
within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a 
just claim to your confidence and your support. Re- 
spect for its authority, compliance with its laws, ac- 
quiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the 
fundamental maxims of true liberty. The basis of our 
political systems is, the right of the people to make and 
to alter their constitution of government. But the 
constitution which at any time exists, until changed 
by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, 
is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the 
power and the right of the people to establish govern- 
ment, presupposes the duty of every individual to obey 
the established government. 



1796-9.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 445 

" All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all 
combinations and associations, under whatever plaus- 
ible character, with the real design to direct, control, 
counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and ac- 
tion of the constituted authorities, are destructive of 
this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency, 
They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial 
and extraordinary force to put in the place of the del- 
egated will of the nation, the will of a party, often a 
small, but artful and enterprising minority of the com- 
munity ; and, according to the alternate triumphs of 
different parties, to make the public administra- 
tion the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous 
projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent 
and wholesome plans, digested by common councils, 
and modified by mutual interests. 

" However combinations or associations of the 
above description may now and then answer popular 
ends, they are likely, in the course of time and 
things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, 
ambitious, and unprincipled men, will be enabled to 
subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for 
themselves the reins of government ; destroying, 
afterwards, the very engines w r hich had lifted them to 
unjust dominion. 

" Towards the preservation of your Government, 
and the permanency of your present happy state, it 
is requisite, not only that you steadily discountenance 
irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, 
but also that you resist, with care, the spirit of inno- 
vation upon its principles, however specious the pre- 
text, One method of assault may be to effect, in the 
forms of the Constitution, alterations which will im- 
pair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine 



446 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1796-9. 



what cannot be directly overthrown. In all the 
changes to which you may be invited, remember that 
time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the 
true character of government, as of other human in- 
stitutions ; that experience is the surest standard, by 
which to test the real tendency of the existing con- 
stitution of a country ; that facility in changes, upon 
the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to 
perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypoth- 
esis and opinion ; and remember, especially, that for 
the efficient management of your common interest in 
a country so extensive as ours, a government of as 
much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security 
of liberty, is indispensable. Liberty itself will find in 
such a government, with powers properly distributed 
and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little 
else than a name, where the government is too feeble 
to withstand the enterprises of faction, to confine 
each member of the society within the limits pre- 
scribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure 
and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and 
property. 

u I have already intimated to you the danger of 
parties in the State, with particular references to the 
founding of them on geographical discriminations. 
Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and 
warn you in the most solemn manner against the 
baneful effects of the spirit of party generally. 

" This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from 
our nature, having its root in the strongest passions 
of the human mind. It exists under different shapes, 
in all governments ; more or less stifled, controlled, or 
repressed ; but in those of the popular form, it is seen 
in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy. 



'796-9-1 LIFE 0F WASHINGTON. 447 

" The alternate domination of one faction over 
another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural 
to party dissension, which in different ages and coun- 
tries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is 
itself a frightful despotism ; but this leads at length 
to a more formal and permanent despotism. The 
disorders and miseries which result, gradually incline 
the minds of men to seek security and repose in the 
absolute power of an individual ; and, sooner or later, 
the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or 
more fortunate than his competitors, turns this dis- 
position to the purposes of his own elevation, on the 
ruins of public liberty. 

" Without looking forward to an extremity of this 
kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out 
of sight) the common and continual mischiefs of the 
spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest 
and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it 
It serves always to distract the public councils and 
enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the 
community with ill-founded jealousies and false 
alarms ; kindles the animosity of one part against 
another, foments, occasionally, riot and insurrection. 
It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, 
which find a facilitated access to the Government 
itself through the channels of party passions. Thus 
the policy and the will of one country are subjected 
' to the policy and will of another. 

" There is an opinion that parties in free countries 
are useful checks upon the administration of the gov- 
ernment, and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. 
This, within certain limits, is probably true ; and in 
governments of a monarchical cast, patriotism may 
look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the 



44 8 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

spirit of party. But in those of the popular character, 
in governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be 
encouraged. From their natural tendency it is 
certain there will always be enough of that spirit for 
every salutary purpose ; and there being constant 
danger of excess, the effort ought to be by force of 
public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not 
to be quenched, it demands uniform vigilance to 
prevent its bursting into a flame, lest instead of 
warming it should consume. 

" It is important likewise, that the habits of think- 
ing, in a free country, should inspire caution to those 
intrusted with its administration, to confine them- 
selves within their respective constitutional spheres, 
avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one depart- 
ment to encroach upon another. The spirit of en- 
croachment tends to consolidate the powers of all 
the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever 
the form of government, a real despotism. A just 
estimate of that love of power, and proneness to 
abuse it, which predominate in the human heart, is 
sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position. 
The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of 
political power, by dividing and distributing it into 
different depositories, and constituting each the 
guardian of the public weal against invasions by the 
others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and 
modern ; some of them in our country and under our 
own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary 
as to institute them. If, in the opinion of the people, 
the distribution or modification of the constitutional 
powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected 
by an amendment in the way which the Constitution 
designates, but let there be no change by usurpation \ 



I79&-9-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 449 

for though this, in one instance, may be the instru- 
ment of good, it is the customary weapon by which 
free governments are destroyed. The precedent 
must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil 
any partial or transient benefit which the use can at 
any time yield. 

" Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to 
political prosperity, religion and morality are indis- 
pensable supports. In vain would that man claim the 
tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert 
these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest 
props of the duties of men and citizens, The mere 
politician, equally with the pious man, ought to 
respect and to cherish them. A volume could not 
trace all their connections with private and public 
felicity. Let it simply be asked, where is the se- 
curity for property, for reputation, for life, if the 
sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which 
are the instruments of investigation in courts of 
justice? And let us with caution indulge the sup- 
position, -that morality can be maintained without 
religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence 
of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, 
reason and experience both forbid us to expect that 
national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious 
principle. 

" It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a 
necessary spring of popular government. The rule 
indeed extends with more or less force to every spe- 
cies of free government. Who that is a sincere friend 
to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake 
the foundation of the fabric ? 

" Promote then, as an object of primary importance, 

institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. 

29 



4 ^o LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

In proportion as the structure of a government gives 
force to public opinion, it is essential that public 
opinion should be enlightened. 

"As a very important source of strength and se- 
curity, cherish public credit. One method of pre- 
serving it is to use it as sparingly as possible ; avoid- 
ing occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but 
remembering, also, that timely disbursements to pre- 
pare for danger frequently prevent much greater dis- 
bursements to repel it ; avoiding likewise the accumu- 
lation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of ex- 
pense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to 
discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may have 
occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity 
the burthen which we ourselves ought to bear. The 
execution of these maxims belongs to your representa- 
tives, but it is necessary that public opinion should 
co-operate. To facilitate to them the performance of 
their duty, it is essential that you should practically 
bear in mind, that towards the payment of debts there 
must be revenue ; that to have revenue there must be 
taxes ; that no taxes can be devised which are not 
more or less inconvenient and unpleasant ; that the 
intrinsic embarrassment inseparable from the selec- 
tion of the proper objects (which is always a choice 
of difficulties) ought to be a decisive motive for a can- 
did construction of the conduct of the Government in 
making it ; and for a spirit of acquiescence in the 
measures for obtaining revenue, which the public ex- 
igencies may at any time dictate. 

" Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; 
cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and 
morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be, that good 
policy does not equally enjoin it ? It will be worthy 



1796-9.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 45 1 

of a free, enlightened, and (at no distant period) a 
great nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous 
and too novel example of a people always guided by 
an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt 
in the course of time and things the fruits of such a 
plan would richly repay any temporary advantages 
which might be lost by a steady adherence to it ? 
Can it be that Providence has not connected the per- 
manent felicity of a nation with its virtue ? The ex- 
periment, at least, is recommended by every senti- 
ment which ennobles human nature. Alas ! is it ren- 
dered impossible by its vices ? 

" In the execution of such a plan nothing is more 
essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies 
against particular nations, and passionate attachments 
for others, should be excluded ; and that, in place of 
them, just and amicable feelings towards all should 
be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards 
another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is 
in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity 
or to its affection > either of which is sufficient to lead 
it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in 
one nation against another disposes each more readily 
to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes 
of umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable, when 
accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. 

" Hence, frequent collisions, obstinate, envenomed, 
and bloody contests. The nation, prompted by ill- 
will and resentment, sometimes impels to war the 
government, contrary to the best calculations of pol- 
icy. The government sometimes participates in the 
national propensity, and adopts, through passion, what 
reason would reject ; at other times it makes the ani- 
mosity of the nation subservient to projects of hos- 



452 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9 

tility, instigated by pride, ambition, and other sin- 
ister and pernicious motives. The peace often, some- 
times, perhaps, the liberty of nations has been the 
victim. 

" So, likewise, a passionate attachment of one na- 
tion for another produces a variety of evils. Sym- 
pathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion 
of an imaginary common interest, in cases where no 
real common interest exists, and infusing into one the 
enmities of the other, betrays the former into a par- 
ticipation in the quarrels and wars of the latter, with- 
out adequate inducement or justification. It leads 
also to concessions to the favorite nation of privi- 
leges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure 
the nation making the concessions ; by unnecessarily 
parting with what ought to have been retained ; and 
by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retali- 
ate in the parties from whom equal privileges are 
withheld, and it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or de- 
luded citizens (who devote themselves to the favorite 
nation) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of 
their own country without odium, sometimes even 
with popularity; gilding with the appearances of a 
virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable defer- 
ence for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public 
good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, 
corruption, or infatuation. 

"As avenues to foreign influence in innumerable 
ways, such attachments are particularly alarming to 
the truly enlightened and independent patriot. How 
many opportunities do they afford to tamper with do- 
mestic factions, to practice the arts of seduction, to 
mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the pub- 
lic councils ? Such an attachment of a small or weak 



1796-9.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 453 

towards a great and powerful nation, dooms the former 
to be the satellite of the latter. 

"Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence 
(I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jeal- 
ousy of a free people ought to be consta?itly awake, 
since history and experience prove that foreign in- 
fluence is one of the most baneful foes of republican 
government. But that jealousy to be useful must be 
impartial, else it becomes the instrument of the very 
influence to be avoided, instead of a defence against 
it. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation, and 
excessive dislike of another, cause those whom they 
actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to 
veil and even second the arts of influence on the 
other. Real patriots, who may resist the intrigues of 
the favorite, are liable to become suspected and odi- 
ous ; while its tools and dupes usurp the applause 
and confidence of the people, to surrender their in- 
terests. 

" The great rule of conduct for us in regard to for- 
eign nations is, in extending our commercial relations, 
to have with them as little political connection as pos- 
sible. So far as we have already formed engagements, 
let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here 
let us stop. 

" Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us 
have none, or a very remote relation. Hence she 
must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes 
of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. 
Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to impli- 
cate ourselves by artificial . ties, in the ordinary vicis- 
situdes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations 
and collisions of her friendships or enmities. 

"Our detached and distant situation invites and 



4S4 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

enables us to pursue a different course. If we re- 
main one people, under an efficient government, the 
period is not far off when we may defy material in- 
jury from external annoyance; when we may take 
such an attitude as will cause the neutrality we may 
at any time resolve upon to be scrupulously respected ; 
when belligerent nations, under the impossibility of 
making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard 
the giving us provocation ; when we may choose 
peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice, shall 
counsel. 

" Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situa- 
tion ? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign 
ground ? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that 
of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and pros- 
perity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, 
interest, humor, or caprice ? 

" It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent 
alliances with any portion of the foreign world ; so far, 
I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it ; for let me 
not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity 
to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no ?ess 
applicable to public than to private affairs, that hon- 
esty is always the best policy. I repeat it, therefore, 
let those engagements be observed in their genuine 
sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary, and 
would be unwise to extend them. 

" Taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable 
establishments, on a respectable defensive posture, we 
may sately trust to temporary alliances for extraor- 
dinary emergencies. 

" Harmony, and a liberal intercourse with all na- 
tions, are recommended by policy, humanity, and in- 
terest. But even our commercial policy should hold 



i; 9 6-9-] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 455 

an equal and impartial hand ; neither seeking nor 
granting exclusive favors or preferences ; consulting 
the natural course of things ; diffusing and diversify- 
ing, bv gentle means, the streams of commerce, but 
forcing nothing ; establishing, with powers so dis- 
posed, in order to give trade a stable course, to define 
the rights of our merchants, and to enable the govern- 
ment to support them ; conventional rules of inter- 
course, the best that present circumstances and mutual 
opinion will permit, but temporary, and liable to be 
from time to time abandoned or varied, as experience 
and circumstances shall dictate ; constantly keeping 
in view, that it is folly in one nation to look for disin- 
terested favors from another ; that it must pay, with 
a portion of its independence for whatever it may ac- 
cept under that character ; that by such acceptance, 
it may place itself in the condition of having given 
equivalents for nominal favors, and yet of being re- 
proached with ingratitude for not giving more. There 
can be no greater error than to expect, or calculate 
upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illu- 
sion which experience must cure, which a just pride 
ought to discard. 

" In offering to you, my countrymen, these coun- 
sels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope 
they will make the strong and lasting impression I 
could wish ; that they will control the usual current 
of the passions, or prevent our nation from running 
the course which has hitherto marked the destiny of 
nations ; but if I may even flatter myself that they 
may be productive of some partial benefit, some occa- 
sional good; that they may now and then recur, to 
moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the 
mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the im- 



456 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

postures o* pretended patriotism ; this hope will be a 
full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by 
which they have been dictated. 

"How far, in the discharge of my official duties, I 
have been guided by the principles which have been 
delineated, the public records and other evidences of 
my conduct must witness to you and to the world. 
To myself, the assurance of my own conscience is, 
that I have at least believed myself to be guided by 
them. 

" In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, 
my proclamation of the 22d of April, 1793, is the index 
to my plan. Sanctioned by your approving voice, and 
by that of your representatives in both Houses of 
Congress, the spirit of that measure has continually 
governed me, uninfluenced by any attempt to deter 
or divert me from it. 

" After deliberate examination with the aid of the 
best lights I could obtain, I was well satisfied that our 
country, under all the circumstances of the case, had 
a right to take, and was bound in duty and interest to 
take a neutral position. Having taken it, I de- 
termined, as far as should depend upon me, to main- 
tain it with moderation, perseverance, and firmness. 

" The considerations which respect the right to 
hold this conduct, it is not necessary, on this occasion, 
to detaiL I will only observe, that, according to my 
understanding of the matter, that right, so far from 
being denied by any of the belligerent powers, has 
been virtually admitted by all. 

"The duty of holding a neutral conduct may be 
inferred, without anything more, from the obligation 
which justice and humanity impose on every nation, 
in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain in- 



1796-9] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 457 

violate the relations of peace and amity towards other 
nations. 

" The inducements of interest for observing that 
conduct will best be referred to your own reflections 
and experience. With me, a predominant motive has 
been to endeavor to gain time to our country to settle 
and mature its yet recent institutions, and to progress 
without interruption, to that degree of strength and 
consistency, which is necessary to give it, humanly 
speaking, the command of its own fortunes. 

" Though in reviewing the incidents of my admin- 
istration, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am 
nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it 
probable that I may have committed many errors. 
Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Al- 
mighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they 
may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that 
my country will never cease to view them with indul- 
gence ; and that after forty-five years of my life dedi- 
cated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of 
incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as 
myself must soon be to the mansions of rest. 

" Relying on its kindness in this, as in other 
things, and actuated by that fervent love towards it, 
which is so natural to a man, who views in it the 
native soil of himself and his progenitors for several 
generations, I anticipate with pleasing expectation, 
that retreat, in which I promise myself to realize, 
without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of - partaking, in 
the midst of my iellow-citizens, the benign influence 
of good laws under a free government — the ever ta- 
vorite object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I 
trust, oi our mutual cares, labors, and dangers/' 

This address to the people ot the United States 



45 8 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

was received with the highest veneration and grati- 
tude. Several of the State Legislatures ordered it 
to be put upon their journals, and every citizen con- 
sidered it as the legacy of the most distinguished 
American patriot. 

On the 7th of December, 1796, the President, for 
the last time, met the National Legislature. In his 
speech, after taking a view of- the situation of the 
United States, he, regardless of opposition and cen- 
sure, recommended the attention of Congress to those 
measures which he deemed essential to national inde- 
pendence, honor, and prosperity. The first among 
these was the creation of a navy. 

" To an active external commerce, the protection 
of a naval force is indispensable. This is manifest 
with regard to wars in which a State is itself a party ; 
but besides this, it is in our own experience, that the 
most sincere neutrality is not a sufficient guard 
against the depredations of nations at war. To secure 
respect to a neutral flag requires a naval force, organ- 
ized and ready to vindicate it from insult or aggres- 
sion. This may even prevent the necessity of going 
to war, by discouraging belligerent powers from com- 
mitting such violations of the rights of the neutral 
party, as may first or last, leave no other option. 
From the best information I have been able to obtain, 
it would seem as if our trade to the Mediterranean, 
without a protecting force, will always be insecure ; 
and our citizens exposed to the calamities from which 
numbers of them have but just been relieved. 

" These considerations invite the United States to 
look to the means, and to set about the gradual crea- 
tion of a navy. The increasing progress of their 
navigation promises them, at no distant period, the 



1.96-9.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 459 

requisite supply of seamen ; and their means, in other 
respects, favor the undertaking. It is an encourage- 
ment, likewise, that their particular situation will give 
weight and influence to a moderate naval force in 
their hands. Will it not then be advisable to begin 
without delay to provide and lay up materials for the 
building and equipping of ships of war ; and to pro- 
ceed in the work by degrees, in proportion as our re- 
sources shall render it practicable without incon- 
venience ; so that a future war of Europe may not 
find our commerce in the same unprotected state in 
which it was found by the present." 

He proceeded to recommend those establishments 
for the manufacturing of such articles as are necessary 
for the defence of the country, an institution for the im- 
provement of agriculture, a military academy, and a 
national university. In reference to foreign powers, 
he observed : — 

" While in our external relations some serious in- 
conveniences and embarrassments have been over- 
come, and others lessened, it is with much pain and 
deep regret I mention that circumstances, of a very 
unwelcome nature, have lately occurred. Our trade 
has suffered, and is suffering extensive injuries in the 
West Indies from the cruisers and agents of the 
French republic ; and communications have been re- 
ceived from' its minister here, which indicate the 
danger of a further disturbance of our commerce by 
its authority; and which are in other respects far 
from agreeable. 

" It has been my constant, sincere, and earnest 
wish, in conformity with that of our nation, to maintain 
cordial harmony, and a perfectly friendly understand- 
ing with that republic. This wish remains unabated, 



4-6o 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1796-9. 



and I shall persevere in the endeavor to fulfil it to 
the utmost extent of what shall be consistent with a 
just and indispensable regard to the rights and honor 
of our country ; nor will I easily cease to cherish the 
expectation, that a spirit of justice, candor, and friend- 
ship, on the part of the republic, will eventually en- 
sure success. 

" In pursuing this course, however, I cannot forget 
what is due to the character of our government and 
nation ; or to a full and entire confidence in the good 
sense, patriotism, self-respect, and fortitude of my 
countrymen/' 

In the following manner, he concluded his ad- 
dress : — 

" The situation in which I now stand, for the last 
time, in the midst of the representatives of the people 
of the United States, naturally recalls the period when 
the administration of the present form of govern- 
ment commenced ; and I cannot omit this occasion 
to congratulate you and my country on the success 
of the experiment ; nor to repeat my fervent suppli- 
cations to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and 
Sovereign Arbiter of Nations, that his providential 
care may still be extended to the United States ; that 
the virtue and happiness of the people may be pre- 
served, and that the government which they have in- 
stituted for the protection of their liberties, may be 
perpetual*" 

The Senate in their reply approved the sentiments 
of the address, and noticing the prosperity of the 
United States, they added : — 

" Whilst contemplating the causes that produced 
this auspicious result, we must acknowledge the ex- 
cellence of the constitutional system, and the wisdom 



1796-9] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 4 gi 

of the legislative provisions ; but we should be defi- 
cient in gratitude and justice, did we not attribute a 
great portion of these advantages to the virtue, firm- 
ness, and talents of your administration ; which have 
been conspicuously displayed, in the most trying 
times, and on the most critical occasions ; it is there- 
fore with the sincerest regret, that we now receive an 
official notification of your intentions to retire from 
the public employments of your country. 

" When we review the various scenes of your pub- 
lic life, so long and so successfully devoted to the 
most arduous services, civil and military, as well dur- 
ing the struggles of the American Revolution, as the 
convulsive periods of a recent date, we cannot Jook 
forward to your retirement without our warmest affec- 
tions and most anxious regards accompanying you, 
and without mingling with our fellow-citizens at large 
in the sincerest wishes for your personal happinesss, 
that sensibility and attachment can express. 

u The most effectual consolation that can offer for 
the loss we are about to sustain, arises from the ani- 
mating reflection that the influence of your example 
will extend to your successors, and the United States 
thus continue to enjoy an able, upright, and ener- 
getic administration." 

In the House of Representatives, an answer, which 
promised attention to the several subjects recom- 
mended in the speech, and concluded as follows, was, 
after pointed objection and warm debate, voted by a 
large majority : — 

"And while we entertain a grateful conviction that 
your wise, firm and patriotic administration has been 
signally conducive to the success of the present form 
of government, we cannot forbear to express the deep 



462 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

sensations of regret with which we contemplate your 
intended retirement from office. 

" As no other suitable occasion may occur, we can- 
not suffer the present to pass without attempting to 
disclose some of the emotions which it cannot fail to 
awaken. 

" The gratitude and admiration of your country- 
men are still drawn to the recollection of those re- 
splendent virtues and talents which were so eminently 
instrumental to the achievement of the Revolution, 
and of which that glorious event will ever be the 
memorial. Your obedience to the voice of duty and 
your country, when you quitted reluctantly, a second 
time, the retreat you had chosen, and first accepted 
the Presidency, afforded a new proof of the devoted- 
ness of your zeal in its service, and an earnest of the 
patriotism and success which have characterized your 
administration. As the grateful confidence of the 
citizens in the virtues of their Chief Magistrate has 
essentially contributed to that success, we persuade 
ourselves that the millions whom we represent parti- 
cipate with us in the anxious solicitude of the present 
occasion. 

" Yet we cannot be unmindful that your moderation 
and magnanimity, twice displayed by retiring from 
your exalted stations, afford examples no less rare 
and instructive to mankind than valuable to a re- 
public. 

"Although we are sensible that this event, of itself, 
completes the lustre of a character already conspicu- 
ously unrivalled by the coincidence of virtue, talents, 
success, and public estimation ; yet we conceive we 
owe it to you, sir, and still more emphatically to our- 
selves and to our nation (of the language of whose 



1796-9.] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



463 



hearts we presume to think ourselves at this moment, 
the faithful interpreters) to express the sentiments 
with which it is contemplated. . 

" The spectacle of a free and enlightened nation, 
offering by its representatives the tribute of un- 
feigned approbation to its first citizen, however novel 
and interesting it may be, derives all its lustre (a 
lustre which accident or enthusiasm could not bestow, 
and which adulation would tarnish) from the transcen- 
dent merit of which it is the voluntary testimony. 

" May you long enjoy that liberty which is so dear 
to you, and to which your name will ever be so dear. 
May your own virtue and a nation's prayers obtain 
the happiest sunshine for the decline of your days, 
and the choicest of future blessings. For our coun- 
try's sake, and for the sake of republican liberty, it is 
our earnest wish that your example may be the guide 
of your successors ; and thus, after being the orna- 
ment and safeguard of the present age, become the 
patrimony of our descendants." 

President Washington now with supreme delight 
anticipated the time when he should quit the storms 
and agitations of public life, for the retirement of 
Mount Vernon ; and on the day which terminated his 
Presidential course, he directed the following letter to 
the Secretary of State 

" Dear Sir, 

" At the conclusion of my public employments I 
have thought it expedient to notice the publication of 
certain forged letters which first appeared in the year 
1776, and were obtruded upon the public as mine. 
They are said by the editor to have been found in a 
small portmanteau that I had left in the care of my 



464 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

mulatto servant, named Billy, who it is pretended was 
taken prisoner at Fort Lee, in 1776. The period 
when these letters were first printed will be recol- 
lected, and what were the impressions they were in- 
tended to produce on the public mind. It was then 
supposed to be of some consequence to strike at the 
integrity of the motives of the American Commander- 
in-Chief, and to paint his inclinations as at variance 
with his professions and his duty. Another crisis in 
the affairs of America having occurred, the same 
weapon has been resorted to, to wound my character 
and deceive the people. 

" The letters in question have the dates, addresses 
and signatures here following : — 

"New York, June 12, 1776. 
" To Mr. Lund Washington, at Mount Vernon, 
Fairfax County, Virginia, G. W. 

" June 18, 1776. 
" To John Park Custis, Esq., at the Hon. Bene- 
dict Calvert's, Esq., Mount Airy, Maryland. G. W. 

"New York, July 8, 1776. 
" To Mr. Lund Washington, Mount Vernon, Fair- 
fax County, Virginia. G. W. 

New York, July 16, 1776. 
" To Mr. Lund Washington. G W. 

"New York, July 15, 1776. 
" To Mr. Lund Washington. G. W. 

"New York July 22, 1776, 
" To Mr. Lund Washington. G. W. 

" June 24, 1776. 

" To Mrs. Washington. 

" At the time when these letters first appeared, it 
was notorious to the army immediately under my com- 



1796-9.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 465 

mand, and particularly to the gentlemen attached to 
my person, that my mulatto man Billy had never 
been one moment in the power of the enemy f It 
is also a fact that no part of my baggage, or any of 
my attendants, were captured during the whole course 
of the war. These well known facts made it unneces- 
sary, during the war, to call the public attention to 
the forgery, by any express declaration of mine, and a 
firm reliance on my fellow-citizens, and the abundant 
proofs they gave of their confidence in me, rendered 
it alike unnecessary to take any formal notice of the 
revival of the imposition, during my civil administra- 
tion. But as I cannot know how soon a more serious 
event may succeed to that which will this day take 
place, I have thought it a duty that I owed to myself, 
to my country, and to truth, now to detail the circum- 
stances above recited, and to add my solemn declara- 
tion, that the letters herein described are a base 
forgery, and that I never saw or heard of them until 
they appeared in print. The present letter I commit 
to your care, and desire it may be deposited in the 
office of the Department of State as a testimony of 
the truth to the present generation and to posterity." 

On the 4th of March, 1797, he attended the in- 
auguration of his successor in office. Great sensi- 
bility was manifested by the members of the Legisla- 
ture and other distinguished characters, when he 
entered the Senate Chamber ; and much admiration 
expressed at the complacence and delight he mani- 
fested at seeing another clothed with the authority 
with which he had himself been invested. 

Having paid his affectionate compliments to Mr. 
Adams as President of the United States, he bid 
adieu to the seat of government, and hastened to the 



466 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1790-9. 

delights of domestic life. He intended that his jour- 
ney should have been private, but the attempt was 
vain ; the same affectionate and respectful attentions 
were on this occasion paid him, which he had re- 
ceived during his Presidency. 

At the adoption of the Federal Constitution, foreign 
powers refused all negotiation with Congress, public 
credit was lost, nor was any function of a living gov- 
ernment performed. Under his own auspices, Gen- 
eral Washington saw a national government firmly 
established, and the country rise to a state of strength 
and respectability ; controversies with foreign nations, 
which had long existed., and which involved the best 
interests of the United States, settled ; the resources 
of the country explored and brought into action ; the 
debts of the war funded, and credit restored, through 
all the ramifications of public and private concerns ; 
the agriculture and commerce of his country flourish- 
ing beyond example, and its capital doubled. 

One cloud only at this time obscured the political 
horizon of the United States. France had assumed 
a threatening attitude ; but for the peace and safety 
of the country, the General confided in the patriot- 
ism of his fellow-citizens, under the providence of 
Heaven. 

In the rejection of the American envoys by the 
Court of France, in their menaces to the United 
States, and in the measures adopted under the admin- 
istration of Mr. Adams, his feelings were deeply in- 
terested. When the indignities of the Directory 
exceeded endurance, and the spirit of the American 
nation was roused to resistance, every eye was direct- 
ed to him as the military leader. He might, without 
jealousy, be placed at the head of a powerful army, 



1796-9.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 467 

and could bring into the field all the military strength 
and talents of the country. 

Colonel Hamilton, in May, 1798, intimated to him 
this universal expectation ; to whom General Wash- 
ington thus replied : — 

" You may be assured that my mind is deeply im- 
pressed with the present situation of public affairs, 
and not a little agitated by the outrageous conduct of 
France towards the United States, and at the inimi- 
cal conduct of those partisans who aid and abet her 
measures. You may believe, further, from assurances 
equally sincere, that if there was anything in my 
power to be done consistently, to avert or lessen the 
danger of the crisis, it should be rendered with hand 
and heart. 

" But, my dear sir, dark as matters appear at pres- 
ent, and expedient as it is to be prepared for the 
worst that can happen (and no man is more disposed 
to this measure than I am) I cannot make up my mind 
yet for the expectation of open war ; or, in other 
words, for a formidable invasion by France. I cannot 
believe, although I think her capable of anything, 
that she will attempt to do more than she has done. 
When she perceives the spirit and policy of this coun- 
try rising into resistance, and that she has falsely 
calulated upon support from a large part of the people 
to promote her views and influence in it, she will 
desist even from these practices, unless unexpected 
events in Europe, or the acquisition of Louisiana and 
the Floridas should induce her to continue them. And 
I believe, further, that although the leaders of their 
party in this country will not change their sentiments, 
they will be obliged to change their plan, or the mode 
of carrying it on. The effervescence which is appear* 



4 68 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



[1796-9. 



ing in all quarters and the desertion of their followers 
will frown them into silence, at least for a while. 

" If I did not view things in this light, my mind 
would be infinitely more disquieted than it is ; for, if 
a crisis should arrive when a sense of duty, or a call 
from my country should become so imperious as to 
leave me no choice, I should prepare for relinquish- 
ment, and go with as much reluctance from my pres- 
ent peaceful abode, as I should go to the tombs of 
my ancestors. " 

In June, President Adams wrote General Washing- 
ton a letter in which he thus alluded to his again ap- 
pearing in a public character : — 

" In forming an army, whenever I must come to 
that extremity, I am at an immense loss whether to 
call out all the old generals, or to appoint a young 
set. If the French come here, we must learn to 
march with a quick step, and to attack, for in that 
way only they are said to be vulnerable. I must 
tax you sometimes for advice. We must have your 
name, if you will, in any case, permit us to use it. 
There will be more efficacy in it than in many an 
army.' ' 

Four days after the Secretary of War addressed him 
in the following manner on the same subject : — 

" May we flatter ourselves that, in a crisis so awful 
and important, you will accept the command of all our 
armies ? I hope you will, because you alone can unite 
all hearts and all hands, if it is possible that they can 
be united," 

To the President he thus replied :— 

"At the epoch of my retirement, an invasion of 
these States by any European power, or even the prob- 
ability of such an event in my days, was so far from 



T796-9 i LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 469 

being contemplated by me, that I had no conception 
either that or any other occurrence would arise, in so 
short a period, which could turn my eyes from the 
shades of Mount Vernon. But this seems to be the 
age of wonders. And it is reserved for intoxicated 
and lawless France (for purposes of Providence far 
beyond the reach of human ken) to slaughter her own 
citizens, and to disturb the repose of all the world be- 
sides. From a view of the past, from the prospect of 
the present, and of that which seems to be expected, 
it is not easy for me to decide satisfactorily on the 
part it might best become me to act. In case of ac- 
tual invasion by a formidable force, I certainly should 
not entrench myself under the cover of age and re- 
tirement, if my services should be required by my 
country to assist in repelling it. And if there be 
good cause to expect such an event, which certainly 
must be better known to the Government than to 
private citizens, delay in preparing for it may be dan- 
gerous, improper, and not to be justified by prudence. 
The uncertainty, however, of the latter, in my mind, 
creates my embarrassment ; for I cannot bring it to 
believe, regardless as the French are of treaties, and 
of the laws of nations, and capable as I conceive them 
to be of any species of despotism and injustice, that 
they will attempt to invade this country after such an 
uniform and unequivocal expression of the determin- 
ation of the people in all parts to oppose them with 
their lives and fortunes. That they have been led to 
believe by their agents and partisans among us that 
we are a divided people, that the latter are opposed 
to their own Government, and that the show of a 
small force would occasion a revolt, I have no doubt ; 
and how far these men (grown desperate) will further 



47 o LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

attempt to deceive, and may succeed in keeping up 
the deception, is problematical. Without that, the 
folly of the Directory in such an attempt would, I 
conceive, be more conspicuous, if possible, than their 
wickedness. 

" Having with candor made this disclosure of the 
state of my mind, it remains only for me to add, that 
to those who know me best, it is best known, that 
should imperious circumstances induce me to exchange 
once more the smooth paths of retirement for the 
thorny ways of public life, at a period too when repose 
is more congenial to nature, that it would be produc- 
tive of sensations which can be more easily conceived 
than expressed." 

To the question of the Secretary of War, this was 
his answer : — 

" It cannot be necessary for me to premise to you, 
or to others who know my sentiments, that to quit the 
tranquillity of retirement, and enter the boundless 
field of responsibility, would be productive of sensa- 
tions which a better pen than I possess would find it 
difficult to describe. Nevertheless the principle by 
which my conduct has been actuated through life 
would not suffer me, in any great emergency, to with- 
hold any services I could render when required by my 
country ; especially in a case where its dearest rights 
are assailed by lawless ambition and intoxicated power, 
in contempt of every principle of justice, and in vio- 
lation of solemn compacts, and of laws which govern 
all civilized nations : and this too with the obvious in- 
tent to sow thick the seeds of disunion, for the pur- 
pose of subjugating our Government,«and destroying 
our independence and happiness. 

" Under circumstances like these, accompanied by 



1796-9.I LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 4?I 

an actual invasion of our territory, it would be difficult 
for me at any time to remain an idle spectator under 
the plea of age or retirement. With sorrow, it is true, 
I should quit the shades of my peaceful abode, and 
the ease and happiness I now enjoy, to encounter anew 
the turmoils of war, to which, possibly, my strength 
and powers might be found incompetent. These, 
however, should not be stumbling blocks in my own 
way. But there are other things highly important for 
me to ascertain and settle, before I could give a de- 
finitive answer to your question. 

" First, the propriety in the opinion of the public, 
so far as that opinion has been expressed in conver- 
sation, of my appearing again on the public theatre, 
after declaring the sentiments I did in my valedictory 
address of September, 1796. 

" 2dly. A conviction in my own breast, from the 
best information that can be obtained, that it is the 
wish of my country that its military force should be 
committed to my charge ; and 

3dly. That the army now to be formed should be 
so appointed as to afford a well grounded hope of its 
doing honor to -the country, and credit to him who 
commands it in the field." 

Before these letters had reached the seat of govern- 
ment, the President had nominated to the Senate, 
" General Washington to be Lieuten ant-General and 
Commander-in-Chief of the armies raised and to be 
raised." The Secretary of War waited upon him with 
his commission, and with the following letter from the 
President : — 

" Mr. M'Henry, the Secretary of War, will have the 
honor to wait on you in my behalf, to impart to you 
a step I have ventured to take, which I should have 



472 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

been happy to have communicated in person, had such 
a journey at this time been in my power. 

" My reasons for this measure will be too well 
known to need any explanation to the public. Every 
friend and every enemy of America will comprehend 
them at first blush. To you, sir, I owe all the apology 
I can make. The urgent necessity I am in of your 
advice and assistance, indeed of your conduct and di- 
rection of the war, is all I can urge ; and that is a 
sufficient justification to myself and to the world. I 
hope it will be so considered by yourself. Mr. 
M'Henry will have the honor to consult you upon the 
organization of the army, and upon everything relat- 
ing to it." 

With the order to wait on General Washington 
the Secretary of War received from President Adams 
the following instructions : — 

" It is my desire that you embrace the first opportu- 
nity to set out on your journey to Mount Vernon, and 
wait on General Washington with the commission of 
Lieutenant-General and Commander-in-Chief of the 
armies of the United States, which, by the advice and 
consent of the Senate, has been signed by me. 

" The reasons and motives which prevailed on me 
to venture on such a step as the nomination of this 
great and illustrious character, whose voluntary resig- 
nation alone occasioned my introduction to the office 
I now hold, were too numerous to be detailed in this 
letter, and are too obvious and important to escape 
the observation of any part of America or Europe. 
But as it is a movement of great delicacy, it will require 
all your address to communicate the subject in a man- 
ner that shall be inoffensive to his feelings, and consis- 
tent with all the respect that is due from me to him. 



1796-9.3 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 473 

" If the General should decline the appointment, 
all the world will be silent, and respectfully acquiesce. 
If he should accept it; all the world, except the ene- 
mies of this country, will rejoice. If he should come 
to no decisive determination, but take the subject into 
consideration, I shall not appoint any other Lieutenant- 
General until his conclusion is known/' 

The General opened himself explicity to the Secre- 
tary of War, and by him returned the following an- 
swer to the President's communication : — 

" I had the honor, on the evening of the 1 ith instant, 
to receive from the hands of the Secretary of War 
your favor of the 7th, announcing that you had with 
the advice and consent of the Senate, appointed 
me Lieutenant-General and Commander-in-Chief of 
the armies raised, or to be raised for the service of 
the United States. 

" I cannot express how greatly affected I am at this 
new proof of public confidence, and at the highly 
flattering manner in which you have been pleased to 
make the communication. At the same time, I must 
not conceal from you rny earnest w r ish that the choice 
had fallen upon a man less declined in years, and 
better qualified to encounter the usual vicissitudes of 
war. 

" You know, sir, w r hat calculations I had made rela- 
tive to the probable course of events on my retiring 
from office, and the determination with which I had 
consoled myself of closing the remnant of my days in 
my present peaceful abode. You will, therefore, be at 
no loss to conceive and appreciate the sensation I 
must have experienced, to bring my mind to any con- 
clusion that would pledge me at so late a period of 
life, to leave scenes I sincerely love, to enter upon the 



474 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

boundless field of public action, incessant trouble, and 
high responsibility. 

" It was not possible for me to remain ignorant of, 
or indifferent to recent transactions. The conduct of 
the Directory of France towards our country ; their 
insidious hostility to its Government ; their various 
practices to withdraw the affections of the people from 
it ; the evident tendency of their arts, and those of 
their agents, to countenance and invigorate opposition ; 
their disregard of solemn treaties and the laws of na- 
tions ; their war upon our defenceless commerce ; their 
treatment of our ministers of peace ; and their 
demands, amounting to tribute, could not fail to excite 
in me, sentiments corresponding with those my coun- 
trymen have so generally expressed in their affectionate 
addresses to you. 

" Believe me, sir, no man can more cordially approve 
the wise and prudent measures of your administration. 
They ought to inspire universal confidence, and will, 
no doubt, combined with the state of things, call from 
Congress such laws and means as will enable you to 
meet the full force and extent of the crisis. 

" Satisfied, therefore, that you have sincerely wished 
and endeavored to avert war, and exhausted to the 
last drop the cup of reconciliation, we can with pure 
hearts appeal to heaven for the justice of our cause, 
and may confidently trust the final result to that kind 
Providence who has heretofore, and so often, signally 
favored the people of the United States. 

" Thinking in this manner, and feeling how incum- 
bent it is upon every person of every description to 
contribute, at all times, to his country's welfare, and 
especially in a moment like the present, when every- 
thing we hold dear and sacred is so seriously threat- 



I79&-9] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



475 



ened, I have finally determined to accept the commis- 
sion of Commander-in-Chief of the armies of the 
United States, with the reserve only, that I shall not 
be called into the field until the army is in a situation 
to require my presence, or it becomes indispensable 
by the urgency of circumstances. 

" In making this reservation, I beg it to be under- 
stood that I do not mean to withhold any assistance 
to arrange and organize the army, which you may 
think I can afford. I take the liberty also to mention 
that I roust decline having my acceptance considered 
as drawing after it any immediate charge upon the 
public, or that I can receive any emoluments annexed 
to the appointment before I am in a situation to incur 
expense." 

From this period the domestic employments of 
General Washington were blended with the concerns 
of his public commission ; but he did not apprehend 
that France would push her aggressions to actual war. 
He conceived that the object of the Directory was to 
subject the Government of the United States to their 
measures, either through fear of war, or by the con- 
trolling influence of the people. 

It was the settled opinion of the General, that the 
great body of the American people were actuated by 
the love of country and only needed information re- 
specting the measures of government to induce them 
to support it. In the patriotic spirit, excited in 1798, 
he contemplated a resource, which might at all times 
be relied upon to repel foreign aggressions, and on 
this occasion he confidently expected that France 
would recede from her insolent pretensions. 

But he did not live to see the fulfilment of his pre- 
dictions. On Friday, December 13, 1799, while su- 



47 6 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

perintending some improvements on his estate, he was 
out in a light rain, which wet his neck and hair. The 
occurrence commanded no immediate attention, but in 
the course of the ensuing night he was seized with an 
inflammation of the wind pipe. The complaint was 
accompanied with difficulty in swallowing, and with a 
quick and laborious respiration. 

Conceiving that bleeding would be salutary, a vein 
was opened by one accustomed to the use of the lancet, 
and fourteen ounces of blood taken from him ; but he 
could not be persuaded to send for his physician until 
the morning. About 11 o'clock, on Saturday, Dr. 
Craik arrived, and perceiving his extreme danger, 
desired the advice of two consulting physicians ; but 
their aid, in this case, was unavailing. Speaking soon 
became painful, and respiration contracted and imper- 
fect, and at half-past eleven on Saturday night, 
December 14, in the full possession of reason, he 
expired. 

From the moment of attack, he believed the disease 
would prove mortal, and submitted to medical aid 
rather to gratify the wishes of his anxious friends, than 
from any expectation of relief. Some hours before 
death, with extreme difficulty, he intelligibly expressed 
a desire that he might be permitted to die without 
further disturbance. When he could no longer swal- 
low, he undressed himself and got into bed, there to 
await his dissolution. Dr. Craik took the head of his 
beloved and respected friend in his lap, to whom the 
General said, " Doctor, I am dying, and have been 
dying for a long time, but I am not afraid to die." 
With fortitude he bore the painful conflict, and with 
perfect serenity resigned himself to his God. 

His interment on Wednesday, the 18th of Decern 



279^9-1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 477 

ber, was attended by religious services and military 
honors ; and a great concourse of people followed his 
hearse as undissembled mourners. 

The report of the death of General Washington 
reached the seat of government before the information 
of his sickness. It excited the highest sensibility in 
the members of Congress, and overwhelmed them 
with affliction. A solemn silence prevailed in the 
House of Representatives for several minutes. At 
length, Mr. Marshall, the present Chief Justice of the 
United States, mentioned the melancholy informa- 
tion. "This information is not certain," he observed, 
"but there is too much reason to believe it true. Af- 
ter receiving intelligence," he added, " of a national 
calamity so heavy and afflicting, the House of Repre- 
sentatives can be but ill fitted for public business." 
In consequence, both Houses adjourned. 

On opening the House the next morning, Mr. Mar- 
shall addressed the Chair in the following manner : — 

" The melancholy event which was yesterday an- 
nounced with doubt, has been rendered but too cer- 
tain. Our Washington is no more ! The Hero, the 
Patriot, and the Sage of America — the man on whom, 
in times of danger, every eye was turned, and all 
hopes were placed, lives now only in his own great 
actions, and in the hearts of an affectionate and af- 
flicted people. 

" If, sir, it had even not been usual openly to testify 
respect for the memory of those whom Heaven has 
selected as its instruments for dispensing good to 
man, yet, such has been the uncommon worth, and 
such the extraordinary incidents which have marked 
the life of him whose loss we all deplore, that the 
whole American nation, impelled by the same feel- 



47 8 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [i79^9- 

ings, would call with one voice, for a public mani- 
festation of that sorrow which is so deep and so 
universal. 

" More than any other individual, and as much as 
to one individual was possible, has he contributed to 
found this our wide-spreading empire, and to give 
to the western world independence and freedom. 

" Having effected the great object for which he was 
placed at the head of our armies, we have seen him 
convert the sword into the ploughshare, and sink the 
soldier into the citizen. 

" When the debility of our federal system had be- 
come manifest, and the bonds which connected this 
vast continent were dissolving, we have seen him the 
chief of those patriots who formed for us a constitu- 
tion, which, by preserving the Union, will, I trust, 
substantiate and perpetuate those blessings which 
our revolution had promised to bestow. 

"In obedience to the general voice of his country, 
calling him to preside over a great people, we have 
seen him once more quit the retirement he loved, and 
in a season more stormy and tempestuous than war 
itself, with calm and wise determination, pursue the 
true interests of the nation, and contribute more than 
any other could contribute to the establishment of 
that system of policy which will, I trust, yet preserve 
our peace, our honor, and independence.* 

" Having twice been unanimously chosen the Chief 
Magistrate of a free people, we have seen him, at a 
time when his re-election with universal suffrage could 
not be doubted, afford to the world a rare instance of 
moderation, by withdrawing from his high station to 
the peaceful walks of private life. 

u However the public confidence may change, and 



1796-9.] LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 479 

the public affections fluctuate with respect to others, 
with respect to him, they have, in war and in peace, 
in public and in private life, been as steady as his 
own firm mind, and as constant as his own exalted 
virtues. 

" Let us then, Mr. Speaker, pay the last tribute of 
respect and affection to our departed friend. Let 
the Grand Council of the nation display those senti- 
ments which the nation feels. For this purpose I 
hold in my hand some resolutions which I take the 
liberty of offering to the House." 

The resolutions, after stating the death of General 
Washington, were as follows : — 

" Resolved, That this House will wait on the Presi- 
dent in condolence of this mournful event. 

" Resolved, That the Speakers chair be shrouded 
with black, and that the members and officers of the 
House wear black during the session. 

" Resolved, That a committee in conjunction with 
one from the Senate, be appointed to consider on the 
most suitable manner of paying honor to the memory 
of the man first in war, first in peace, and first in the 
hearts of his fellow-citizens/' 

These resolutions had no sooner passed, than a 
written message was received from the President, 
transmitting a letter from Mr. Lear, " which," said 
the message, "will inform you that it had pleased 
Divine Providence to remove from this life our ex- 
cellent fellow-citizen, George Washington, by the 
purity of his life, and a long series of services to his 
country, rendered illustrious through the world. It 
remains for an affectionate and grateful people, in 
whose hearts he can never die, to pay suitable honor 
to his memory." 



480 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

On this mournful event, the Senate addressed to 
the President the following letter : — 

" The Senate of the United States respectfully take 
leave, sir, to express to you their deep regret for the 
loss their country sustains in the death of General 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

" This event, so distressing to all our fellow-citizens, 
must be peculiarly heavy to you, who have long been 
associated with him in deeds of patriotism. Permit 
us, sir, to mingle our tears with yours. On this oc- 
casion it is manly to weep. To lose such a man, at 
such a crisis, is no common calamity to the world. 
Our country mourns a father. The Almighty Dis- 
poser of human events has taken from us our greatest 
benefactor and ornament. It becomes us to submit with 
reverence to HIM who ' maketh darkness his pavilion/ 

"With patriotic pride we review the life of our 
WASHINGTON, and compare him with those of 
other countries who have been pre-eminent in fame. 
Ancient and modern names are diminished before 
him. Greatness and guilt have too often been allied ; 
but his fame is whiter than it is brilliant. The de- 
stroyers of nations stood abashed at the majesty of 
his virtues. It reproved the intemperance of their 
ambition, and darkened the splendor of victory. The 
scene is closed, and we are no longer anxious lest 
misfortune should sully his glory ; he has travelled 
on to the end of his journey, and carried with him an 
increasing weight of honor ; he has deposited it safely 
where misfortune cannot tarnish it ; where malice can- 
not blast it. Favored of Heaven, he departed without 
exhibiting the weakness of humanity ; magnanimous 
in death, the darkness of the grave could not obscure 
his brightness. 



T796-9-1 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON 



"Such was the man whom we deplore. Thanks to 
God, his glory is consummated. Washington yet 
lives on earth in his spotless example — his spirit is in 
Heaven. 

" Let his countrymen consecrate the memory of 
the heroic General, the patriotic Statesman, and the 
virtuous Sage. Let them teach their children never 
to forget that the fruits of his labors and his example 
are their inheritance." 

To which the President made the following an- 
swer : — 

" I receive, with the most respectful and affection- 
ate sentiments, in this impressive address, the oblig- 
ing expressions of your regret for the loss our coun- 
try has sustained, in the death of her most esteemed, 
beloved, and admired citizen. 

" In the multitude of my thoughts and recollections, 
on this melancholy event, you will permit me to say 
that I have seen him in the days of adversity, in some 
of the scenes of his deepest distress, and most trying 
perplexities. I have also attended him in his highest 
elevation, and most prosperous felicity, with uniform 
admiration of his wisdom, moderation and constancy. 

" Among all our original associates in that mem- 
orable leagtie of this conti7ient in 1774, which first ex- 
pressed the sovereign will of a free nation in Amer- 
ica, he was the only one remaining in the general 
government. Although with a constitution more en- 
feebled than his, at an age when he thought it neces- 
sary to prepare for retirement, I feel myself alone, 
bereaved of my last brother ; yet I derive a strong 
consolation from the unanimous disposition which ap- 
pears in all ages and classes to mingle their sorrows 
with mine on this common calamity to the world. 

31 



482 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9- 

" The life of our Washington cannot suffer by a com- 
parison with those of other countries, who have been 
most celebrated and exalted by fame. The attributes 
and decorations of royalty could only have served to 
eclipse the majesty of those virtues which made him 
from being a modest citizen, a more resplendent lumi- 
nary. Misfortune, had he lived, could hereafter have 
sullied his glory only with those superficial minds, 
who believing that characters and actions'are marked by 
success alone, rarely deserve to enjoy it. Malice could 
never blast his honor, and envy made him a singular 
exception to her universal rule. For himself, he had 
lived long enough to life and to glory. For his fellow 
citizens, if their prayers could have been answered, he 
would have been immortal; for me, his departure is 
at a most unfortunate moment. Trusting, however, 
in the wise and righteous dominion of Providence 
over the passions of men, and the results of their 
councils and actions, as well as over their lives, nothing 
remains for me but humble resignation. 

" His example is now complete ; and it will teach 
wisdom and virtue to magistrates, citizens, and men, 
not only in the present age, but in future generations, 
as long as our history shall be read. If a Trajan 
found a Pliny, a Marcus Aurelius can never want 
biographers, eulogists, or historians." 

A joint committee of the two Houses reported the 
following resolutions : — 

"That a marble monument be erected by the 
United States at the city of Washington, and that the 
family of General Washington be requested to per- 
mit his body to be deposited under it ; and that the 
monument be so designed as to commemorate the 
great events of his military and political life. 



1796-9-3 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 483 

" That there be a funeral procession from Congress 
Hall to the German Lutheran Church, in memory of 
General Washington, on Thursday the 26th instant, 
and that an oration be prepared at the request of Con- 
gress, to be delivered before both Houses on that 
day ; and that the President of the Senate and Speaker 
of the House of Representatives be desired to request 
one of the members of Congress to prepare and de- 
liver the same. 

" That it be recommended to the people of the 
United States to wear crape on the left arm as mourn- 
ing for thirty days. 

" That the President of the United States be re- 
quested to direct a copy of these resolutions to be 
transmitted to Mrs Washington, assuring her of the 
profound respect Congress will ever bear to her per- 
son and character, of their condolence on the late af- 
fecting dispensation of Providence, and entreating her 
assent to the interment of the remains of General 
Washington in the manner expressed in the first 
resolution. 

"That the President be requested to issue his proc- 
lamation, notifying to the people throughout the 
United States the recommendation contained in the 
third resolution. 

The President transmitted the resolutions of Con- 
gress to Mrs. Washington, to which she thus replied : — » 

" Taught by the great example which I have so long 
had before me, never to oppose my private wishes to 
the public will, I must consent to the request made 
by Congress, which you have had the goodness to 
transmit to me ; and in doing this, I need not, I can- 
not say, what a sacrifice of individual feeling I make 
to a sense of duty." 



484 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

Information of the death of General Washington 
was, throughout the United States, accompanied by 
spontaneous and universal expressions of deep grief 
for his loss, and of the highest veneration for his mem- 
ory. The citizens without exception complied with 
the recommendations of Congress. Civil incorpora- 
tions and legislative bodies, colleges and all other 
respectable societies, formed funeral processions, and 
attended upon prayers, eulogies, and orations. 

The resolution of Congress respecting the monu- 
ment has not been carried into execution. When a 
motion for the necessary appropriation was made in 
the House of Representatives, many members mani- 
fested a preference for an equestrian statue, voted by 
Congress at the close of the war, and in the dispute 
between a monument and a statue, the session of the 
Legislature passed away, and no appropriation was 
made. 

They who had opposed every part of his adminis- 
tration, probably could not in sincerity favor a na- 
tional monument to his memory ; and when the sub- 
ject was revived in Congress, the public feelings, hav- 
ing in some measure subsided, they opposed any ap- 
propriation for this purpose, as an improper use of 
public money. The reason assigned for objecting to 
the measure was, that the gratitude and veneration of 
the people were the appropriate monument of the pub- 
lic services of the American Patriot. 

General Washington never had any children. By 
his will he left Mrs. Washington the use of all his prop- 
erty during her life. At her decease he liberated his 
slaves, and disposed of property among his and her 
relations, amounting by his own estimate, to five hun- 
dred and thirty thousand dollars. This amount of 



1796-9 J LIFE OF WASHINGTON 485 

property does not include the mansion house on 
Mount Vernon, nor the domain connected with it, 
which was under the personal management of Gen- 
eral Washington. 



CONCLUSION. 

General Washington was exactly six feet in 
height; he appeared taller, as his shoulders rose a 
little higher than the true proportion. His eyes were 
of a gray, and his hair of a brown color. His limbs 
were well formed, and indicated strength. His com- 
plexion was light, and his countenance serene and 
thoughtful. 

His manners were graceful, manly, and dignified. 
His general appearance never failed to engage the 
respect and esteem of all who approached him. 

Possessing strong natural passions, and having the 
nicest feelings of honor, he was in early life prone 
keenly to resent practices which carried the intention 
of abuse or insult ; but the reflections of maturer age 
gave him the most perfect government of himself. 
He possessed a faculty above all other men to hide 
the weakness inseparable from human nature ; and he 
bore with meekness and equanimity his distinguished 
honors. 

Reserved, but not haughty, in his disposition, he 
was accessible to all in concerns of business, but he 
opened himself only to his confidential friends; and 
no art or address could draw from him an opinion 
which he thought prudent to conceal. 

He was not so much distinguished for brilliancy of 
genius as for solidity of judgment, and consummate 



4 86 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

prudence of conduct. He was not so eminent for any 
one quality of greatness and worth, as for the union 
of those great, amiable, and good qualities which are 
very rarely combined in the same character. 

His maxims were formed upon the result of mature 
reflection, or extensive experience ; they were the in- 
variable rules of his practice ; and on all important 
instances, he seemed to have an intuitive view of what 
the occasion rendered fit and proper. He pursued 
his purposes with a resolution, which, one solitary 
moment excepted, never failed him.* 

Alive to social pleasures, he delighted to enter into 
familar conversation with his acquaintance, and was 
sometimes sportive in his letters to his friends ; but 
he never lost sight of the dignity of his character, nor 
deviated from the decorous and appropriate behavior 
becoming his station in society. 

He commanded from all the most respectful at- 
tention, and no man in his company ever fell into 
light or lewd conversation. His style of living cor- 
responded with his wealth ; but his extensive estab- 
lishment was managed with the strictest economy, 
and he ever reserved ample funds liberally to promote 
schemes of private benevolence, and works of public 
utility. Punctual himself to every engagement, he 
exacted from others a strict fulfilment of contracts, 
but to the necessitous he was diffusive in his char- 
ities, and he greatly assisted the poorer classes of 
people in his vicinity, by furnishing them with means 
successfully to prosecute plans of industry. 

In domestic and private life, he blended the author- 
ity of the master with the care and kindness of the 
guardian and friend. Solicitous for the welfare of his 

* On York Island, in 1776. — See page 96. 



1796-9.] 



LIFE OF WASHINGTON. 



487 



slaves, while at Mount Vernon, he every morning 
rode round his estates to examine their condition ; 
for the sick, physicians were provided, and to the 
weak and infirm every necessary comfort was admin- 
istered. The servitude of the negroes lay w r ith 
weight upon his mind ; he often made it the subject 
of conversation, and resolved several plans for their 
general emancipation ; but could devise none which 
promised success, in consistency with humanity to 
them, and safety to the State. 

The address presented to him at Alexandria, on 
the commencement of his Presidency, fully shows how 
much he was endeared to his neighbors, and the af- 
fection and esteem in which his friends held his 
private character. 

His industry was unremitted, and his method so 
exact, that all the complicated business of his military 
command and civil administration was managed 
without confusion and without hurry. 

Not feeling the lust of power, and ambitious only 
for honorable fame, he devoted himself to his country 
upon the most disinterested principles ; and his 
actions wore not the semblance but the reality of 
virtue ; the purity of his motives was accredited, and 
absolute confidence placed in his patriotism. 

While filling a public station, the performance of 
his duty took the place of pleasure, emolument, and 
everv private consideration. During the more criti- 
cal years of the war, a smile was scarcely seen upon 
his countenance ; he gave himself no moments of re- 
laxation, but his whole mind was engrossed to exe- 
cute successfully nis trust. 

As a military commander, he struggled with innu- 
merable embarrassments, arising from the short en- 



4 S8 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. [1796-9. 

listment of his men, and from the want of provisions, 
clothing, arms, and ammunition ; and an opinion of 
his achievements should be formed in view of these 
inadequate means. 

The first years of his civil administration were 
attended with the extraordinary fact, that while a 
great proportion of his countrymen did not approve 
his measures, they universally venerated his character, 
and relied implicitly on his integrity. Although his 
opponents eventually deemed it expedient to villify his 
character, that they might diminish his political in- 
fluence, yet the moment he retired from public life 
they returned to their expressions of veneration and 
esteem ; and after his death used every endeavor to 
secure to their party the influence of his name. 

He was as eminent for piety as for patriotism. 
His public and private conduct evince, that he im- 
pressively felt a sense of the superintendence of God 
and of the dependence of man. In his addresses, 
while at the head of the army, and of the National 
Government, he gratefully noticed the signal blessings 
of Providence, and fervently commended his country 
to divine benediction. In private, he was known to 
have been habitually devout. 

In principle and practice he was a Christian. 
The support of an Episcopal church, in the vicinity of 
Mount Vernon, rested principally upon him, and here, 
when on his estate, he with constancy attended pub- 
lic worship. In his address to the American people 
at the close of the war, mentioning the favorable 
period of the world at which the independence of his 
country was established, and enumerating the causes 
which unitedly had ameliorated the condition of hu- 
man society, he, above science, philosophy, commerce, 



1 796-9-1 LIFE OF WASHINGTON. ^ 

and all other considerations, ranked " the pure and be- 
nign light of Revelation:' Supplicating Heaven that 
his fellow-citizens might cultivate the disposition, and ' 
practise the virtues which exalt a community, he pre- 
sented the following petition to his God : That he 
would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to 
do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves 
with that charity, humility and pacific temper of 
mind, which were the characteristics of the Divine 
Author of our blessed religion ; without a humble imi- 
tation of whose example in these things we can never 
hope to be a happy nation. 

During the war, he not unfrequently rode ten or 
twelve miles from camp to attend public worship ; and 
he never omitted this attendance, when opportunity 
presented. 

In the establishment of his presidential household, 
he reserved to himself the Sabbath, free from the in- 
terruptions of private visits, or public business ; and 
throughout the eight years of his civil administration, 
he gave to the institutions of Christianity the influ- 
ence of his example. 

He was as fortunate as great and good. 

Under his auspices, a civil war was conducted with 
mildness, and a revolution with order. Raised him- 
self above the influence of popular passions, he hap- 
pily directed these passions to the most useful pur- 
poses. Uniting the talents of the soldier with the 
qualifications of the statesman, and pursuing, un- 
moved by difficulties, the noblest end by the purest 
means, he had the supreme satisfaction of beholding 
the complete success of his great military and civil 
sendees in the independence and happiness of his 
country. 



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